📖 Chapter 1259 - Beyond the Gate

28 Feb, 2024

What was the void?

Many people knew the term, but very few actually knew what it was.

The void wasn’t nothingness, nor was it something illusory or vague.

It was the bottommost layer of the starry sky. To some extent, it could be considered a thin membrane, but it was so vast that nothing could be seen within it.

However, just because it couldn’t be seen didn’t mean it wasn’t there.

The void contained the thoughts of all living beings. It could be considered the ocean of collective consciousness. Theoretically speaking… it was possible to see the memories of everyone who had ever existed. However, this was limited to the dead; if you wanted to see the memories of the living, you could only see your own.

Bu tin any case, that was just theoretically speaking. There were too many memories there, and almost no living being could withstand the influx of all this information; instead, they would instinctively reject it. That was why the void seemed to be nothingness.

It was for the sake of self-preservation.

However, Chen Qingzi was different. He didn’t know what kind of realm his current cultivation base had reached, but he knew… that if he wanted, he could easily peer into the void and view the innumerable memories within.

But this ability was unimportant. Chen Qingzi didn’t intend to waste his time looking through other people’s lives, especially since… within the void, there was no trace of Master Never-Ending’s memories.

Indeed, his previous guess was correct; Master Never-Ending wasn’t dead.

But this was also unimportant, because Chen Qingzi already knew about Master Never-Ending’s plan. It was an open scheme, and although he knew about it, he still had to go.

In fact, he could choose not to leave. But hiding away in the stele world wouldn’t help anyone in the future, and his heart of seeking Dao would be lost.

In the end… that which should arrive would still arrive, and that which should happen would still happen.

“Little Junior Brother… you are light and I am darkness. If I succeed, the secret of the Immortal will be hidden forever. I will bear all the karma by myself. If I fail, and die for my Dao…” Murmuring softly, Chen Qingzi shook his head.

“I will at least help you out!” Chen Qingzi’s eyes gleamed with determination. Step by step, he walked through the void, treading on the memories of the past.

This was the road of seeking Dao.

It was also a journey of searching the heart.

With the first step, ripples bloomed in the void, and within these ripples, Chen Qingzi saw a certain scene play out.

The scene was of a mortal village being razed to the ground. There was a little boy wearing tattered clothes kneeling in front of the flames. His body was extremely emaciated, and he was crying miserably.

His cries were filled with helplessness and confusion, as well as a rapidly growing… hatred.

In the distance, an army of mortal soldiers could be seen disappearing behind a mountain. They gave off a sinister aura, and their slanted flagpole bore the banner of a black snake.

Chen Qingzi closed his eyes, and the scene disappeared. He took a second and third step, causing more images to appear at his feet.

The second scene was of the capital city of a mortal kingdom. Corpses littered the streets, and in front of the royal palace, numerous soldiers surrounded a young man. However… it was obviously the young man who was surrounded, but the ones who were trembling… were the soldiers.

As the young man walked forward step by step, everyone retreated until they couldn’t anymore. By now, the young man had already stepped into the main hall. He could see a middle-aged man with a pale complexion sitting on the throne.

Behind this man was the flag of the nation, which contained a black snake.

A moment later, the flag collapsed, the soldiers died, and the king’s head fell to the ground!

The third scene was of a vast and majestic sect. An old man in a purple robe was looking down at a young man kneeling in front of him.

“What is your name?”

"Chen Qing."

“From now on, your name will be Chen Qingzi^[1], and I… will be your master.” The old man spoke calmly. As these words fell into the young man’s ears, Chen Qingzi raised his head. He looked at the old man in front of him, as well as the gate behind the old man, where two words were written in black.

Underworld Sect.

“Master…” After taking this third step, Chen Qingzi opened his eyes and looked at the scene below him for a while. Then, he took his fourth, fifth, and sixth steps.

In the following scenes, he saw his life in the Underworld Sect, herding the souls of the starry sky and ferrying them into the cycle of reincarnation. One day, his master went out and came back to the sect with a junior brother for him.

In this little junior brother’s body, he sensed some special fluctuations. These fluctuations… were very familiar, as if… he was looking at another self.

“He is light, and I am darkness… Master, the mission of the Underworld Sect was to prevent the Immortal from leaving, but you… changed it to prevent all existences from leaving.

“This change was actually a kind of protection, but also… a kind of tacit approval.

“Tacit approval of me… and also of my junior brother…

“Because… he obtained the Immortal inheritance, and I… also obtained the Immortal inheritance. There wasn’t only one Immortal inheritance!

“Just like me, you were tired of your mission… In the end, you found fulfillment and salvation in death. Little Junior Brother didn’t understand, and I don’t want him to bear too much…” Chen Qingzi lowered his head and continued walking step by step.

Time passed, and more scenes flashed by. He saw himself among innumerable souls of the dead, and saw that one soul that made his eyes flicker. He saw the Underworld Sect’s collapse, as well as all the fellow disciples who died at his hands.

These scenes were strange, yet familiar at the same time.

Many more scenes flashed by. He saw himself killing Divine Emperors, killing the Never-Ending Clan, killing countless more people… As Chen Qingzi walked, his whole life appeared beneath his feet. Finally, he saw the last scene, of Wang Baole lifting his head and calling out…

"Senior Brother, come back alive."

“… I will.” Chen Qingzi whispered softly. Now, he was at the end of the void, and he lifted his leg to take the final step. As soon as his foot fell, the entire void shook, and an indescribable pressure descended. An enormous hand suddenly appeared, striking down to crush Chen Qingzi.

This hand was formed by the will of the stele world itself. It was… the hand of Allheaven!

Endless underworld qi emanated from the hand as it descended.

“I am the Underworld Sect’s Heavenly Dao, the Underworld Emperor of this generation! I carry the ultimate mission and authority of this stele world!” Facing the descending hand, Chen Qingzi calmly spoke, and underworld qi erupted from his body. At the center of his brows, the black fish imprint glittered.

The two sides seemed to share a common source. After a while, the hand slowly dissipated, and after it disappeared, an ancient stone gate appeared in front of Chen Qingzi.

Silent, Chen Qingzi stood in front of the gate for a long time. In the end, he flicked his sleeve, and the stone gate slowly creaked open. As it opened, Chen Qingzi saw that beyond it… was still a boundless void.

However, far away, there was a huge rift. This rift… seemed to have been forcibly blasted open from the outside.

“The stele world is divided into three layers. The first layer… is the core, the universe where everyone lives. The second layer is the stele’s inner wall, which is the void behind the gate. Right now, I’m between the core and the inner wall. As for the third layer…

“That rift… leads through the stele’s outer wall, which is the third layer!”

Chen Qingzi narrowed his eyes and stepped into the threshold. At that moment… a vast blood-colored shadow flashed past the gate, and in the blink of an eye, more blood-colored shadows followed. Looking carefully, it could be seen that the so-called shadows were like the feelers of some organism.

But because the organism was so enormous, its feelers alone were already gigantic!

At the same time, as these blood-colored shadows flashed by, sharp hissing sounds rang out. These hissing sounds pierced right into the divine soul, and could cow all living beings. If someone below the Universe Realm were here at this moment and heard these sounds, their flesh and blood might directly collapse, and they would die in body and soul!

“You are the one Master Never-Ending was waiting for…

“And also… the one who planned to possess my junior brother, right?

“The real… Emperor!”