The spaceship quickly arrived in front of the palace.
" Venerable Guiyi, Your Highness Zhang Junbao, my mission is now complete after delivering you two here. I wish you both a successful mission."
" Telike, thank you!"
Zhang Junbao nodded and watched the other person leave.
Inside the palace, having already received news of Zhang Junbao and Venerable Guiyi's arrival, people came to greet them as soon as they left the spaceship.
"Greetings, Venerable Guiyi, and His Highness Zhang Junbao. Venerable Longyu requests your presence; please follow us!"
" Junbao, this palace is the residence of the Venerable Longyu, the guardian of this Purgatory Abyss," Venerable Guiyi introduced.
The two followed the attendant to the top floor of the palace.
This palace is extremely magnificent, even larger than the Golden Crow Hall of the Venerable Golden Crow. From the outside, its base diameter is at least tens of thousands of kilometers. It has nine floors inside, and many powerful figures reside within.
Even the Viska Star has a Universe Venerable Universe Venerable overseeing it; how could a top-tier Desperate Level secret realm like the Purgatory Abyss be without one?
Although the hall only had nine floors, Zhang Junbao sensed an extremely terrifying aura within it.
"All of them Immortal, and even the Immortal are at the King Level. The Immortal Expert among them alone are much stronger than those in the Golden Crow Hall," Zhang Junbao thought to himself.
"Second Senior Brother, could it be that some creatures might break out of the Purgatory Abyss, requiring so many powerful figures to suppress them?"
"That's not the case. Although occasionally some native creatures inexplicably escape from Purgatory, this is extremely rare, and it might not happen even once in thousands of epochs. Guarding Purgatory is not only to prevent the native creatures within from escaping, but also to prevent other Alien Race from taking the opportunity to infiltrate the Purgatory Abyss in the future."
As you know, although the Purgatory Abyss is extremely dangerous, it also contains countless treasures, making it easy for Alien Race to covet it. Although it is dangerous, some Soul Slave enslaved by Alien Race races are not afraid of death. As long as they can successfully obtain treasures from the Purgatory Abyss, any price is worth paying for them. " Venerable Guiyi explained.
"So that's how it is. After being Soul Enslavement, one no longer possesses their own will, obeying only their master's commands in everything, and having no regard for their own life."
"Therefore, one must never be Soul Enslavement. Even if one self-destructs, there may be a chance to be resurrected in the future, but once Soul Enslavement, there is absolutely no hope."
Venerable Guiyi gave further instructions.
As they spoke, the two arrived at the top floor of the palace.
In the magnificent hall, a man with two horns on his head, exuding an extremely domineering and majestic aura, sat on a throne. His face was covered with dark green scales, giving him an extraordinary presence.
"Hahaha... Gui Yi, I didn't expect you to come here. You're very welcome!" The domineering man stood up to greet Venerable Guiyi and said with a loud laugh.
" Longyu, after all these years, you've become even more domineering."
The two hugged each other tightly, like old friends who hadn't seen each other for years.
"My master ordered me to wait for my junior brother to return from his adventures in the secret realm, so I have come," said Venerable Guiyi.
"Is this the City Lord's new disciple? He broke through the Trial Tower on the Tenth Layer of the Universe Heavenly Bridge. It is said that hundreds of Venerable vied to take him as their disciple, but in the end, it was the City Lord who stepped in and accepted him. Luckily, I didn't go back then, or I would have been as embarrassed as the others!" Venerable Longyu said with a loud laugh.
Zhang Junbao looked up at the man in front of him. From the first glance, he could tell that the man was an extremely bold and domineering person.
Being able to freely mock other Universe Venerable suggests that one's strength is at least that of a top-tier Universe Venerable, or even possibly Universe Overlord.
"Greetings, Venerable Longyu!" Zhang Junbao bowed.
"Stop with the formalities. I've seen the videos of your Genius Battle and Heavenly Bridge. Both your choices and your moves prove that you're definitely not as gentle as you appear on the surface."
This shows that you have a good level of mental discipline and are able to control your inner self very well. However, sometimes being too restrictive isn't a good thing. Being overly modest will only make your enemies look down on you. As a genius, you should have the domineering and unrestrained spirit of a genius!
Zhang Junbao's heart skipped a beat at the words of Venerable Longyu. He hadn't expected that his gentle demeanor would reveal to Venerable Longyu that his mental cultivation was not low.
Zhang Junbao understood that the Venerable Longyu before him was probably following the same path as Luo Feng in terms of mental cultivation, taking the first level of Childlike Heart to its extreme, completely opening his heart and doing whatever he wanted.
He was bold because he wanted to be bold; there was no affectation, it went straight to his heart, and his domineering aura was as undisguised as Luo Feng's killing intent.
"Thank you for your guidance, Venerable One!"
Zhang Junbao smiled. The True Meaning of Taiji is divided into Yin and Yang. Extreme Yin is gentle and restrained yet resilient, while extreme Yang is violent and fierce yet not aggressive. It is extremely difficult to fully master the power of Yin and Yang. Zhang Junbao has studied the True Meaning of Taiji for many years and has always kept them in a balanced state.
However, in the eyes of Venerable Longyu, this balance actually suppressed the fierce and powerful Yang energy within him, which is why he spoke up to remind Zhang Junbao.
Zhang Junbao did not explain that this was his state after mastering the True Meaning of Taiji, since explaining the True Meaning of Taiji to outsiders was an extremely troublesome matter.
However, the Venerable Longyu's words also reminded him of his personality: excessive pursuit of balance is not always a good thing. Releasing one's violent killing intent at the appropriate time is not necessarily a bad thing.
Although Yin and Yang are mutually restraining, they can also complement each other. Only by bringing the power of extreme Yin and extreme Yang to their respective extremes and then merging them can the true power of Taiji be unleashed.
"Your talent is indeed astonishing for a hundred million epochs. Your first mission was to Viska Star, which attracted the pursuit of the Universe Venerable, but you still managed to escape."
However, the Purgatory Abyss is not comparable to the barely upgraded secret Desperate Level of Viska Star. After you chose the mission, the human leadership originally wanted to refuse you directly, since it would be a loss for our Human Race if a genius like you died in a mission.
Even after the Chaos City Lord explained the horrors of the Purgatory Abyss to you, you still persisted—that shows courage!
"Now that I've made this choice, I will definitely take full responsibility for it!" Zhang Junbao said with a smile.
"Hahaha... You should know that for Universe Level being to enter the Purgatory Abyss, it's almost certain death, with only a very slim chance of survival. Whether you're a true genius or just an arrogant fool depends on whether you can seize this opportunity."
"What is Purgatory? It is the true cosmic hell. Only by passing through hell can you become a true powerhouse!" Venerable Longyu revealed a row of sharp teeth that gleamed with a cold light as he smiled and said to Zhang Junbao.
"If you haven't even conquered the Purgatory, how dare you call yourself a genius!" Zhang Junbao retorted, equally unwilling to be outdone.
"There are countless dangers within Purgatory. If you die, I will not save you. I know that the Chaos City Lord must have given you a life-saving jade pendant, but I advise you not to count on it. Within the Purgatory Abyss, only by relying on yourself can you possibly get out."
"Fools who pin their hopes on salvation from the strong will never emerge alive from Purgatory."
Zhang Junbao's pupils contracted slightly, but quickly returned to normal.
The Venerable Longyu seemed to be reprimanding him, but in reality, he was telling him how to seize the only sliver of opportunity in Purgatory.
" Purgatory is an extremely dark and evil place where you can't trust anyone or anything. If you still harbor illusions about life, you will fall into the trap of Purgatory."
Those who survived the Purgatory Abyss all emerged from despair.
"That's all I have to say. Whether you can understand it or not is up to you. Go!" With a wave of his hand, Venerable Longyu sent Zhang Junbao to the outside of the first floor of the palace, where servants were already waiting for him.
" Longyu, Junior Brother's entry into Purgatory was already extremely dangerous. Why are you still suppressing him like this?" After Zhang Junbao left, Venerable Guiyi asked with a worried expression.
" Gui Yi, I have been stationed in Purgatory for many years and know Purgatory horrors better than anyone else. That is why I want to stimulate Zhang Junbao's extreme emotions. He has such good control over his mind that even I find it difficult to shake his heart, but such a mindset will be a great disadvantage in Purgatory."
Only an extreme burst of power can deter the creatures within the Purgatory.
"What I did was to open a small hole in Zhang Junbao's heart, allowing him to unleash his true power."
"As you can see, Zhang Junbao's state of mind is extremely stable, but it is still not strong enough. Only by breaking the balance and unleashing his power to the extreme can he be reborn. If he can regain control of his mind at that time, then the Purgatory Abyss will no longer be a threat to him." The Venerable Longyu grinned and said domineeringly.
Venerable Guiyi nodded. If anyone was most familiar with the Purgatory Abyss, it would undoubtedly be Venerable Longyu.
Zhang Junbao arrived outside the palace, took out the Void Whale Spaceship, and entered it.
Guided by the attendant, they flew towards the entrance to the Purgatory Abyss.
The distorted spacetime formed the entrance to the Purgatory Abyss. Even though the Void Whale Spaceship wasn't moving fast, Purgatory quickly sucked the spaceship and Zhang Junbao inside.
"The surrounding spacetime was completely chaotic, seemingly without any pattern, yet it formed a terrifying gravitational pull, like a black hole, devouring everything around it."
The spaceship had already started its exterior simulation, but strange lights appeared in Zhang Junbao's eyes, like rapidly glowing threads, twisted into the shape of Purgatory Abyss.
"Even light couldn't escape the Purgatory Abyss; was it sucked in along with it?"
Even Zhang Junbao was slightly affected by the powerful pull from the surroundings.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Junbao discovered that the surroundings were no longer pitch black, but rather filled with a hazy gray mist, tinged with wisps of scarlet red, drifting throughout the surrounding space.
Then, following the eerie light emanating from the gray mist, Zhang Junbao saw many wandering meteorites appearing in the surrounding space-time.
Some meteorites emit their own light, like lighthouses guiding people in the night sky; others are millions of kilometers in size, slowly rotating and pulling other meteorites together to create a magnificent and strange Milky Way.
This place is like another independent universe.
"Is this the interior of the Purgatory Abyss? The surrounding gray mist must be the Death Fog recorded in the data. We must not touch it and must leave as soon as possible, otherwise even a spaceship capable of withstanding an attack from King Level being may be slowly corroded."
" Feitian, activate the scanner, let's get out of here!"
"Yes, Master. This area is shrouded in Death Fog. We've discovered an area 100,000 kilometers away without Death Fog." Inside the cockpit, Feitian controlled the entire spaceship, rapidly scanning the surrounding environment and making a judgment.
"That's it. Let's get out of the Death Fog area first."
Feitian piloted the spaceship, swiftly traversing the Death Fog. The Purgatory Abyss was a special secret realm, Zhang Junbao, without obtaining the coordinates of the Dark Universe here, dared not casually traverse into the Dark Universe, otherwise he might get lost in the Dark Universe and be unable to return.
The Void Whale, fused into the spaceship, seemed to sense the immense danger of the Death Fog and flew desperately. In just a few minutes, the surface of the spaceship was corroded with tiny pits.
This spaceship was capable of withstanding attacks from King Level expert, yet it still couldn't withstand the erosion of the Death Fog for long.
Rumble!
Before Zhang Junbao could catch his breath, a deafening roar suddenly came from afar. A terrifying shockwave emanated from the spaceship and struck Zhang Junbao.
At the same time, the surrounding meteorites all flew backward, including the Void Whale Spaceship.
"That's...!" The spaceship's scanner displayed the surrounding environment.
Only now did Zhang Junbao realize why there was a hollow area filled with Death Fog here.
" Star-Devouring Python! Run!"
A gigantic maw, opening almost vertically at a 180° angle, is rapidly closing, swallowing countless Star and turning them into dust.
" The Star-Devouring Python, Starry Sky Behemoth with Earth-Space attributes, although its bloodline is not as strong as the Golden Horned Beast, is still Starry Sky Behemoth with extremely powerful bloodlines, close to that of the Azure Dragon!"
The Void Whale Spaceship fled quickly, while the Star-Devouring Mang simply continued to devour meteorites, paying no attention to his small spaceship.
"It's definitely Immortal Level Star-Devouring Mang. Its head alone is over 100,000 kilometers long, and its entire body is probably over a million kilometers long. No wonder the scanner didn't detect its existence; it's just too enormous. That Death Fog zone we just saw was definitely a trap it set."
Zhang Junbao felt a chill run down his spine. Although he was capable of killing Immortal, he found it extremely difficult to deal with such a colossal Starry Sky Behemoth.
The Spacetime Mist he unleashed couldn't even cover the head of the Star-Devouring Mang, and the small area covered by the Spacetime Mist was of no concern to the Star-Devouring Mang.
If Zhang Junbao were attacked by the Star-Devouring Python, he would likely have no chance of survival.
"This is the Purgatory Abyss, where the survival rate is one in ten thousand. It's truly terrifying. We've just encountered two crises in a row. Surviving here for a year will indeed be extremely difficult."
The Star-Devouring Python didn't pay attention to Zhang Junbao's spaceship, which allowed him to escape by sheer luck, but he still felt lingering fear when he thought about it.
For Immortal, the sheer size of their divine bodies is an immense advantage.