Hiss!

Xu Yang drew in a sharp breath, his mind conjuring a vision of unspeakable horror.

The heaven-locking intent sealed and bound the Spirit River, endlessly condensing it until it became minuscule, then finally cast it into the Celestial Refining Divine Tripod, utterly refining it away.

In that moment, the Spirit River would cease to exist—the Spirit Realm lost to oblivion!

The whole process was like the slow decay of the Spirit River, with darkness as thick as ink swallowing everything, devouring not only the river itself, but all the living beings in the entire realm.

This instant, Xu Yang felt his hair stand on end, bones chilled to the core!

He finally understood how, back then, the First Emperor of Qian, and even the current peerless cultivators, could risk ten deaths out of one life, all for seeking a way to break free from the spirit path, to transcend it.

Because only if you see it with your own eyes, only if you truly grasp it, can you feel that powerless dread and overwhelming shock.

Within the giant stone chamber, a deep silence fell, leaving only the ragged sound of heavy breathing.

Xu Yang wasn’t alone in his thoughts.

All were proud heaven’s chosen—none were fools!

Acknowledging their own insignificance, they grasped, in their bones, just how terrifying the oppression of the Spirit River’s decline would be.

Xu Yang stared absently as the myriad scenes of the Spirit River flashed by, and the spiritual mark within his body suddenly surged in intensity.

Boom!

His spiritual mark leapt from eight feet six inches straight to eight feet seven inches!

Xu Yang jolted, then abruptly closed his eyes.

He actually felt a powerful hunger emerging from his spiritual mark!

Hunger?

Xu Yang’s heart stirred, and without hesitation, he plunged deeper into the Celestial Refining Divine Tripod.

Rumble!

The world quaked, and the divine chains surfaced.

Xu Yang unleashed his heaven-locking intent.

At a certain moment.

On the surface of heaven and earth, a Heaven-Locking Divine Chain split away and swept towards him.

Thump!

Xu Yang’s consciousness churned, his Minghuo surged, raging like a beast!

The Heaven-Locking Divine Chain burst forth from the Minghuo’s will, merging into the spiritual mark!

Clang!

The spiritual mark let out a jubilant hum, spiritual light spilling and surging, eight feet seven inches to the extreme, its waves of substance growing ever deeper and richer.

For a long while.

Xu Yang exhaled heavily, then glanced again at the Spirit River—it had grown utterly indistinct.

In just a brief moment, the treasures carrying everyone seemed to have sped past the river’s end.

Suppressing the shock in his heart, he could only sigh in amazement.

He hadn’t expected that witnessing the Spirit River would once again trigger his spiritual transformation.

One inch of growth, and another divine chain merged!

This made him absolutely certain—the next step in cultivating the heaven-locking intent was to draw on the Heaven-Locking Divine Chains atop the Tripod’s internal world.

"Even if, upon reaching Ancient Fallen Immortal Land, there’s no fortune at all and taboo fills the air, I’ll still be able to use this method to continually refine my spiritual mark and fortify my strength!"

When facing Xiao Ming, his spiritual mark could barely lock him!

But as for the others—few could withstand it.

Moreover, once his mark had enough accumulation and underwent an even greater transformation, Xiao Ming might not be able to break the bindings!

With that thought, Xu Yang’s heart finally eased, and he let go of everything he had just seen and imagined.

He looked around, finding that Shi Hu, Shi Haoting and the others still remained lost in shock.

Suddenly, he met Shi Feng’s gaze.

Shi Feng’s eyes were full of surprise—he hadn’t expected Xu Yang to recover so quickly.

Shi Feng smiled faintly, then with a flick of his finger, sent a ripple surging silently, like invisible water, spreading across the entirety of the giant stone space at a speed visible to the naked eye.

No one around noticed anything at all.

Xu Yang, for his part, didn’t doubt Shi Feng’s intentions or resist in any way.

As the ripples flowed, he gradually felt his mind clearing, all stray thoughts slowly falling away—right then, he understood the ripple’s effect.

Serenity and composure!

And indeed, those around, lost in shock, slowly blurred and closed their eyes, sinking into inner calm.

Xu Yang withdrew his gaze, silently staring at the darkness outside, his mind placid and still as a deep well, devoid of all thought.

He sat there motionless—like a statue.

No knowing how much time passed.

Xu Yang suddenly shuddered, his eyes snapping open.

He saw—outside, the darkness seemed to be twisting.

"Could it be?"

Xu Yang sharply looked to Shi Feng.

Shi Feng slowly opened his eyes and nodded to Xu Yang.

"Wake up, prepare yourselves—it’s nearly time."

"Up ahead is an area of void distortion, different from the previous emptiness. It’s known as the Void Abyss; without Heaven’s power, relying solely on the treasure’s protection, there’s a high chance of being dragged in, torn to pieces, cast into endless darkness!"

His voice echoed through the giant stone chamber.

The crowd stirred, waking as if from a dream; upon hearing Shi Feng’s words, none failed to return to clarity, hearts full of dread.

It was time.

Buzz!

The giant stone suddenly began to tremble gently, eliciting cries of alarm—soon calmed, one by one.

But all along the journey, this was the first such commotion. Worry creased every brow.

Xu Yang was no exception.

After all, in a place like this, even cultivators of Heaven would not dare guarantee safety from accident.

He fixed his gaze on the outside, watching the warped darkness tossing up waves that spread out wide.

The giant stone pressed forward through bouts of trembling.

It seemed like days passed before, at last, in the oppressive gloom, a vertical fissure could be seen ahead.

As if the darkness were solid, the slit stood upright, resembling a rift.

"There may be violent tremors soon—stay steady!" Shi Feng warned once more.

Everyone was at utmost alert, as though facing a deadly foe.

After a few dozen breaths—

Boom!

The giant stone convulsed violently, a blast crashing through it, carrying unspeakable force and pressure.

The crowd erupted in groans and cries of pain.

Xu Yang’s brow furrowed tight, his features contorted—as though he were tossed helpless inside stormy waves, spinning, dizzy, near to vomiting, his consciousness twisted by the violent blast.

In the blur, out of the corner of his eye, the darkness outside suddenly shattered.

Boom!

Light surged like a tidal wave.

Even shielded by the giant stone, his spirit trembled, and he reflexively shut his eyes.

For a long time, all was still.

"Are we here?"

"Seems like we’ve finally stopped."

"Hiss—I feel like I almost died just now."

...

Low whispers filled the air, thick with lingering terror and unease.

Xu Yang opened his eyes at once—the first sight, a sky of dim grey and a boundless, mottled expanse of earth.

"Safe landing!"

"Let’s head out."

Shi Feng rose to his feet and smiled, his sleeve waving in a wide arc.

Swish!

The crowd vanished from within the giant stone, all at once.

Ancient Fallen Immortal Land.

After half a year crossing the Spirit River, to set foot on solid ground so suddenly, had all of them feeling an eerie sense of unreality.

The very moment his feet touched down, Xu Yang was struck by that bone-chilling dread once again—every direction seemed rife with dangers beyond description, though he could not say exactly where they lurked.

Immediately, he recalled Shi Feng’s warnings about the ’power of taboo’!

His gaze swept the scene: treasure after treasure rose from the ground, their spiritual light hidden and contained within.

Three thousand people were scattered, gathered loosely here.

As far as the eye could see, the world stretched vast and measureless.

Mountains coiled like primordial monsters, the whole expanse bleak and desolate.

Not a blade of grass could be seen, almost!

Mottled earth was marred everywhere by massive chasms, craters, breaks and splits.

This was truly a land where vitality was extinguished!

The ancient, bleak aura made everyone’s skin crawl with terror!

"So this is the Ancient Fallen Immortal Land?"

There was not one trace here that hinted at ’immortal’ at all.

And it could not be more different from everyone’s expectations.

Even a place of immortal demise shouldn’t look like this, should it?

Ahead, five figures stood tall.

Looking closer, they were remarkably similar to Yun Zheng, Can Sutian and the other five.

But their auras had dropped to the Divine Heaven level!

Clearly, just incarnations!

"Everyone, this is our second landing on Ancient Fallen Immortal Land; we have already explored this region before, now we will continue. May we discover something this time."

"If anyone finds anything, or faces danger, you each have your communication seals—these will still work here."

Yun Zheng spoke, his expression grave.

"Additionally, I warn you all—this time, it’s highly likely taboo will manifest. You must be extremely cautious!"

"Taboo manifest?"

The crowd of elites burst into exclamations.

"Patriarch, what do you mean by taboo manifest?" Xu Yang stared at Shi Feng, his face tense with doubt and concern.