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Translator: Fate
Translation Checker: Silavin
The white-haired old man shook his head and sighed as he watched the young girl in feathered clothes transform into a Celestial Phoenix and fly away.
“If you’re going, Huang Yu, be careful not to cause trouble. Although a true supreme expert probably wouldn’t pay any attention to a little Celestial Phoenix like you… I doubt you’ll even get to see them anyway. But perhaps… this could be your chance.”
He had been a formidable cultivator a long time ago. Even though he hadn’t quite reached the level of a supreme expert, he was not far off either. However, due to the Will of Heaven, his cultivation began to decline while his life withered away. The divine abilities he had learned and the methods he had cultivated faded from his mind with time.
The scale of this calamity was truly dreadful. Even Immortals had no way to counter it; they could only watch as their cultivation disappeared, their comprehension vanished, and their lifespans dried up before they ultimately met their end.
Some had attempted to leave this universe and search for a solution in other universes. However, those who left never returned. Many speculated that they perished along the way or found a suitable place for cultivation and chose not to return.
In the end, the Dark Gap that lasted for many years erased all Forces and legacies. If any traces remained, they were in the form of engraved stones and ancient books buried in the earth.
“But no matter what, we mustn’t let all the legacies be severed. The Era of the Great Annihilation has already passed, and the current conditions of the world are gradually becoming suitable for cultivation. We are the predecessors of future generations… Perhaps the disturbance just now was caused by a supreme expert who had once left this universe and found a solution,” Grandfather Cang sighed softly as he continued to explain the path of cultivation to the people and beasts with divine consciousness in the bamboo forest.
…
Similar scenes were unfolding on this ancient star filled with life. The radiant light from before was too terrifying, emanating a destructive aura even from a distance. Many cultivators were trying to find a way to rush towards the location where the light had appeared. Even those who couldn’t fly were also thinking of a way they could get there as soon as possible.
Everyone wondered how such a terrifying aura, just like the descriptions of the ancient supreme experts recorded in the ancient books, could still exist in the current world.
[That is…] The young lady named Huang Yu flew at incredible speed. Even though many of the cultivation methods passed down in her bloodline had been erased, it didn’t hinder her speed in the slightest. She transformed into a crimson divine rainbow, chasing after the light from before. Soon, stunned by the sight before her, she couldn’t come back to her senses as she hovered in the air.
At some point, perhaps just moments ago, the vast wilderness that had previously existed had now been shrouded in dense Celesital Mist. Outlines of numerous towering ancient trees and Divine Mountains towering as high as the heavens could vaguely be seen.
Within this cloud of Celestial Mist, the rugged mountains and rocks stood out prominently, and many damaged palaces, pavilions, and ruins exuding a grand and ancient aura were scattered in all directions. They seemed to have existed for a longer time than anyone could keep a record of. Their solemnity made one feel an irresistible urge to kneel down and worship them.
[Could this be the Immortal Palace recorded in the ancient books, where Seniors from beyond the sky chose to seclude themselves in?] Huang Yu was filled with a profound sense of reverence in her heart.
She saw countless terrifying sights in this mysterious area ahead. For some reason, enormous stars, densely packed and seemingly endless, floated in its depths.
In the eastern direction, she could even see towering and majestic pillars that seemed to hold the heavens and the earth apart. They were shrouded in a vast, mysterious mist. Meanwhile, in the western direction, Chaos Qi permeated the air, forming a waterfall that faintly revealed an immensely wide and mighty river that crashed as if it could pierce through the universe.
To Huang Yu’s astonishment, the river with countless stars converging within it seemed to flow back towards the sky, resembling the legendary Milky Way.
“What are these things? And what are those inscriptions?”
“Southern Heavenly Gate?”
“Look, there’s an engraved stone here. It seems to be ancient writing from a long time ago. It says… ‘Gods’ Ruins’?”
The commotion and spectacle in this place startled many cultivators, and everyone who arrived later was completely awestruck. Many had only heard of the so-called Immortal Palace from the ancient books, but what they saw before them now seemed no different from the Immortal Palace. If not, it looked even more mind-blowing. The vast Celestial Mist shrouding this area was mysterious and colossal with no end in sight, inspiring awe in those who beheld it.
“The disturbance earlier was definitely the work of that Senior. It seems he intends to seclude himself here.”
“Gods’ Ruins, Immortal Palace, Southern Heavenly Gates… It must be related to a predecessor from before the Era of the Great Annihilation. Things associated with Immortals only existed before that era.”
Many people gazing at the scene before them devoutly kneeled and paid their respects. In this current era, cultivators pursued peace and harmony instead of fights and slaughter. In other words, they stood aloof from worldly affairs. Therefore, upon learning that this place might be the seclusion site of a supreme expert from the past, everyone refrained from disturbing it and instead performed a ritual and silently observed.
Of course, many were aware that the area ahead undoubtedly held many dangers, and venturing into it without thought would result in life-threatening crises.
“Is that a… tree?” When Huang Yu suddenly noticed something, her expression was filled with astonishment as she focused on the deepest part of the land. Chaos Qi surged, and vast clouds suddenly rose, revealing glimpses of some sights within.
In the deepest part stood an incredibly mysterious and ancient tree, its leaves withered yet exuding endless Chaos Qi. Not only that, stars had transformed into dust-like particles that revolved around the tree, emitting a terrifying sound as if worlds were colliding.
Although this sight only lasted for a moment, many people who witnessed it were in awe and amazement.
“A mysterious predecessor carrying an enigmatic ancient tree suddenly descended here and proclaimed it as Gods’ Ruins. Or perhaps… this place was originally called Gods’ Ruins, even before the Era of the Great Annihilation…” Huang Yu murmured to herself. As eager as she was to step into Gods’ Ruins and marvel at its sights, her instincts warned her she would surely meet her destruction if she dared to take a step forward.
Torn between the warning and the desire to explore, she hesitantly stood still. Yet, in the depths of her mind, a thought whispered to her that she could enter.
Eventually, a cultivator witnessed the Celestial Phoenix transform into her true form, flapping her wings, and plunging into the sea of Celestial Mist to explore Gods’ Ruins. However, no one saw her come out.
In the following years, many cultivators and living beings would come to the edge of Gods’ Ruins to look into the myriad scenes from afar. But as time went on, the dense fog surrounding Gods’ Ruins spread, gradually engulfing everything in its vicinity. Even those who had previously ventured here could no longer find their path.
Many noticed that Gods’ Ruins was gradually disappearing, just like how the various cultivation methods that once existed had faded away.
Some claimed that the mysterious and powerful predecessor within Gods’ Ruins had been healing his injuries all these years and was now ready to leave. However, others believed that Gods’ Ruins was actually the gateway to the legendary Immortal Domain, and that Gods’ Ruins was gradually vanishing because the predecessor had already ascended to the Immortal Domain.
Subsequently, almost every year, cultivators would come to this place in search of traces of Gods’ Ruins. Some found a few clues, but most found nothing and became lost.
They believed that Gods’ Ruins had long since disappeared.
