A Cycle of Years

A gray-white Withered-Prosperous Belt and flourishing shrouds the entire border of the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin, like an ethereal city wall, guarding the once magnificent civilization.

Legend has it that it was the "Years Curse" cast by the Years Ruin Empress at the cost of her life.

The five armies that stormed the capital suffered countless casualties, all trapped by the Withered-Prosperous Belt and unable to escape. In the end, they all perished due to the curse.

Even now, any living being or deceased spirit that dares to enter the Withered-Prosperous Belt will have its lifespan eroded by the power of the curse.

Only when the cycle of Withered-Prosperous Belt enters a weak phase, and the Years Ruins God Token resist the Years Curse, can the outside world enter.

Even so.

Those who venture into ancient kingdoms will still lose a portion of their lifespan.

The higher one's cultivation level, the more lifespan one loses.

At this moment Li Weiyi and Chang Yujian were discussing this matter.

"With our cultivation at the First Realm, each entry and exit would likely result in a loss of three years of lifespan."

"Those in the Second Realm are cursed even more severely, losing about ten years of their lifespan."

"Martial cultivators in the third realm will lose about fifteen years of their lifespan upon entering, and also fifteen years upon exiting. If they emerge having reached the Fourth Realm, they will lose forty years of their lifespan. If they reach the fifth realm, they will lose one hundred and twenty years of their lifespan simply by exiting. Without great courage and ambition, no one dares to enter the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin. Now you know why Mo Duanfeng and Bai Chuan were in such a hurry!"

Chang Yujian whispered, "I reckon they don't dare break through to the Fourth Realm in the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin. They just want to sacrifice thirty years of their lifespan to find treasures. But if Chu Yutian goes crazy, he really dares to break through to the Fourth Realm."

Li Weiyi said, "If we calculate it this way, the Great Longevity of the Fourth Realm will result in a loss of eighty years of lifespan for each entry and exit. The Great Longevity of the Fifth Realm will result in a loss of two hundred and forty years of lifespan."

"So there's no need to worry about encountering Great Longevity. Who would waste eighty years of their lifespan to go to a dangerous place and seek an opportunity that may not even yield results? What treasure can compare to eighty years of lifespan? Besides, how many Great Longevity in the Fourth Realm still have eighty years of lifespan left?" Chang Yujian laughed.

Li Weiyi thought of the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish: "Could someone be hiding in Secret Treasure, able to evade the curse of the Years Ruin Empress?"

"If it were that simple, the Withered-Prosperous Belt here would have been erased by the Martial Path Son of Heaven long ago. How could it still exist now? Even hiding in Supreme Magic Tool wouldn't have helped," said Chang Yujian.

Over the next few days, Li Weiyi stopped refining talismans and instead attempted to break through the Universe Lock four times.

The cracks on the Universe Lock reached twelve.

After Withered-Prosperous Belt, Tang Wanzhou finally stopped and took out the Years Ruins God Token: "This shall be it. Everyone, please keep up."

"Whoosh!"

She channeled her magical energy and infused it into the token.

Instantly, azure mist emanated from the token, enveloping a ten-zhang radius around her.

Everyone put away their Departed Spirit Soul Beast and quickly approached Tang Wanzhou. Then, enveloped in azure mist, they strode towards the gray-white withered and flourishing zone.

"Sizzle!"

The moment Li Weiyi entered the Zone of Decay and Prosperity, he felt his body undergoing some kind of change. He became very tired, as if his entire essence and spirit were being corroded, and his flesh and skin were stinging.

But a moment later, he felt a burning sensation in his chest, at the location of the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish.

That feeling of being eroded by time and curses has vanished.

Li Weiyi looked at his palm, where blue time cocoons appeared on his skin, like armor, enveloping him.

Everyone was activating their magical Magic Tool Battle Robe, trying to fight against that invisible force, and no one noticed the special condition on his body.

Li Weiyi carefully concealed himself, activating the protective scriptures on his Lesser Yang Division robes, appearing to be facing a difficult situation.

"Click!"

The ground was littered with decaying white bones, which crumbled at the slightest step.

They were all cultivators who had been trying to venture into the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin for many years in search of opportunities.

Despite knowing the danger, they were still unwilling to give up.

The group traversed the several-mile-wide Withered-Prosperous Belt had taken place, at top speed.

Then they quickly moved away.

After traveling five hundred miles in silence, the group stopped to rest in the ruins of an ancient city whose outline had been reduced to earthen walls.

Tang Wanzhou looked around at everyone present, considering who should keep watch.

"I have the lowest cultivation level and am the youngest, I can handle it. You all recuperate first, I'll keep watch."

Li Weiyi, her face pale, took the initiative to shoulder the responsibility, not wanting to appear as a useless person.

Many people present looked at him differently, but they didn't say much. They were all sitting cross-legged, practicing their exercises to alleviate the weakness caused by the depletion of their lifespan.

Li Weiyi arrived outside the ancient city ruins and released the Seven Phoenix Wing Moth Emperors, which flew out to patrol in all directions.

Then, observing the environment and carefully sensing this world shrouded in the Withered-Prosperous Belt: "It's very similar to the Netherworld of the Departed, with thin Heaven and Earth Mana Qi and containing dark and eerie power. Long-term absorption will definitely affect one's mind. The cultivation methods practiced by the Taiyin Sect come from the taboo of the deceased, allowing them to absorb Heaven and Earth Mana Qi in the Netherworld, giving them a natural advantage."

Li Weiyi walked along the edge of the ancient city ruins, squatted down, and found two footprints on the ground.

These two footprints were definitely not left by their group.

The footprints were quite clear, indicating they were made within ten days.

Has anyone passed through here recently?

"There are only five Years Ruins God Tokens in total. It's impossible for it to be such a coincidence that another group of people entered from here as well."

"The higher the cultivation level, the stronger the curse. Could it be a martial artist with very weak cultivation? But how could someone with such weak cultivation reach the depths of the Netherworld?"

Li Weiyi was very confused, so he released his senses and explored inch by inch.

Two more footprints were found a mile away.

Exactly the same footprints.

"Was it a direct jump? Or some kind of profound movement technique? Anyone who can traverse a mile is definitely not weak."

A strong sense of unease suddenly arose in Li Weiyi's heart. He was certain that he was being watched from afar by a pair of eyes. So, he quickly summoned back the Seven Phoenix Wing Moth Emperors and returned to the ruins of the ancient city to tell everyone about the discovery of the footprints.

They had recovered considerably and hurried to investigate the footprints.

Tang Wanzhou said, "I entered the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin at a completely random location. I absolutely do not believe that I could run into another group of people like this."

"In any case, since we've found footprints, we need to leave here quickly. Following the footprints might actually put us in danger," Nangong, who was usually taciturn, suddenly spoke up.

A strange feeling arose in Li Weiyi's heart. She felt that Nangong's actions were abnormal, as if he knew something.

Tang Wanzhou said, "I studied the map of the Ruins of Time drawn by Senior Sentinel. Let's go to the nearest Netherworld, Fanye Valley, and see what the situation is like there."

Mo Duanfeng suddenly spoke up, "I entered the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin with a military order, and I have no choice but to force you all to go with me to the ancient kingdom's territory near the Rainforest Realm. However, I must go and scout out and find the Taiyin Sect's forces."

"Holy Master, I have only one question. If I find them and have the opportunity to kill them, will you lead the Lesser Yang Division to join us?"

Tang Wanzhou looked at Bai Chuan.

Bai Chuan said, "Brother Mo and I have already discussed it; I will stay behind to protect everyone."

Tang Wanzhou said, "If there is a real opportunity for the enemy to be in the open while we are in the dark, of course we should seize it and deal a heavy blow to them."

"Very well, with Saint Sir's words, even if this journey is dangerous, I, Mo, am full of fighting spirit and determined to find out the enemy's whereabouts."

Mo Duanfeng, carrying a knife box on his back, his body blurred, disappeared beside the earthen wall.

Li Weiyi's impression of him changed. This courage and willingness to lead from the front were absolutely worthy of the identity of the Sentinel Spirit Army. Other powerful figures would have definitely sent martial artists with lower cultivation levels like Li Weiyi and Liu Ye to scout the enemy.

The so-called "Netherworld" refers to a region shrouded in the aura of the underworld, where the Time Flow Rate is distorted, and its ratio with the outside world is approximately ten to one.

Furthermore, this time-distorting force often gives rise to high-grade medicinal herbs, and even Emperor Medicine.

The Netherworld Soul Divine Marrow can only be found in the Netherworld.

"The Kingdom of Time possesses three supreme treasures: Time, the Great Spring, and the Netherworld Spirit."

"The Netherworld Spirit Tree were said to number in the dozens, growing throughout the country. Unfortunately, they were all destroyed in the war that destroyed the nation, leaving only the Netherworld realms."

Tang Wanzhou looked at Xu Daoqing and asked, "I heard that the Du'e Temple has cultivated a Netherworld Spirit seedling. Is that true?"

Xu Daoqing said, "I've only heard of its legends; I've never actually seen it."

The Fanye Valley Nether Domain, is nestled between three majestic peaks, shrouded in a light blue mist, completely isolated from the outside world.

Looking into the distance, the area shrouded in mist was surprisingly vibrant with life, covered in vegetation and with flowing springs.

It is said that ten thousand years ago, this underworld covered an area of a thousand miles, but it has been shrinking due to the continuous entry of martial arts practitioners to cultivate within it.

Bai Chuan and the Pipa Woman went into the valley first to investigate. After confirming that there was no danger, the rest of the group officially moved in, preparing to cultivate here for the next ten years.

There are array formations left by the predecessors of the Sentinel Spirit Army in the valley, but after decades, they need to be repaired.

This task naturally fell to Li Weiyi and Qing Ziqin.

The others were either searching for medicinal herbs and the Netherworld Soul Divine Marrow in the valley, or cleaning their caves and setting up Defensive Formation.

After repairing the formation at the valley entrance, Li Weiyi and Qing Ziqin climbed upwards along the ancient mountain path, one in front of the other.

They drew the Formation Script all the way down into the ground.

"Why does this trip feel so smooth? Wasn't the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin supposed to be extremely dangerous?"

Li Weiyi stood halfway up the mountain, looking towards the summit. The pale blue aura of the underworld there was illuminated by a certain radiance, making it appear quite bright.

Qing Ziqin said, "Fanye Valley is just a small Netherworld. If you want to seek opportunities in a large Netherworld or go to the capital Chun City, great dangers will naturally follow."

"Moreover, the Sentinel Spirit Army is the fastest at obtaining information and has Spatial Teleportation Array at their disposal. We should be among the first to enter the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin, and in another month or two, things will probably get quite lively. Of course, in the Netherworld, we have essentially been cultivating for one or two years, which is enough to produce a large number of Battle Corpse Puppet."

She suddenly looked at Li Weiyi, her large eyes filled with encouragement and comfort, "When the time comes, we will definitely make them look at us with new eyes. Bai Chuan's words in the Teleportation Hall were not just directed at you and Chang Yujian, but he criticized all of us cultivators in the First Realm."

Upon reaching one of the three peaks, the two were immediately stunned by the sight before them, and then held their breath.

Two pairs of eyes stared intently at the horizon.

In the endless distance of the sky, a giant moon hangs low on the horizon.

Even from tens of thousands of miles away, one can feel its vastness and grandeur.

The outlines of the mountains on the moon are clearly visible, and long rivers of light can be seen. Under its illumination, the mountains, plains, ancient cities, rivers, lakes, and underworld of the Ancient Kingdom of the Years Ruin gain an even more desolate and eerie feeling.

A pale blue, ethereal aura emanated from the hillside, washing over my eyes.

That is time!

Qing Ziqin's red lips parted, and her skin shone brightly in the moonlight.

Li Weiyi asked, "It's like a planet that's been gently placed on the ground; why can it emit light on its own?"

"That is the Immortal Fallen Realm, the source of all time power in the Kingdom of Time. From now on, we will cultivate on this mountaintop, absorbing the light of time and condensing our Psychic Power Stars," Qing Ziqin said.

Li Weiyi said, "Let's repair the formation. Once that's done, let's continue refining the corpse."

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