In the cold, desolate depths of space, on the eternally barren surface of Pluto, Li Qingshan stood alone.
His dark robes seemed to blend into the boundless darkness behind him, only his deep eyes reflected the dim, yellow light source in the center of the distant starry sea— the Sun.
On the fiftieth day, relying on the star coordinates and the extreme speed of the "Xing" character secret, he finally traversed this cold Void measured in light-years and arrived at the edge of the Sun System.
A thousand thoughts swirled in my mind, ultimately condensing into a long sigh that dissipated into the thin atmosphere near absolute zero.
We've arrived. We've finally reached the starting point of this journey home.
Without a moment's hesitation, he took a step forward.
Dao patterns appeared beneath his feet, intertwining to form a hazy halo, which was the power of the "Xing" character secret that touched the realm of time.
Its form became ethereal, as if it were directly embedded in the folds of space, and in an instant, it completely disappeared from this frozen star, leaving only a faint ripple in space that had not yet subsided.
Twelve minutes later.
On a land as red as blood and shrouded in dust, a crack Void opened in the void, and Li Qingshan's figure materialized and landed steadily.
His toes touched the ground, barely stirring up any dust, but in that instant, his mind was filled with deafening auditory hallucinations.
Rebuke!
Shouts of men and neighing of horses, roars of beasts shook the heavens! What was that desolate, lifeless planet before us? As far as the eye could see, a vast and boundless ancient battlefield stretched out in the distance.
Beneath the vast sky, gods and demons stand in great numbers, their banners Shrouding the Heavens the heavens.
There were divine generals with wings on their backs riding thunder chariots, unleashing thousands of feet of lightning; there were ancient beasts with bodies as large as mountains stepping on the Void, each step causing the earth to crack; and there were countless cultivators offering up magical treasures, flying swords, divine furnaces, and ancient mirrors, with the sky filled with intertwined light, tearing the heavens apart.
The murderous aura was so intense, it was almost tangible, and it shattered the clouds in the high sky.
Those figures in battle exuded an aura as vast as the ocean, and their every move possessed the great supernatural power to move mountains and fill seas. Many of them even emanated the pressure of " Dao-Slaying King," and in some battle centers, a faint holy might that made the Chen Zhan was flowing!
This is a sight that no ordinary life-bearing star could possibly witness. Only in legendary ancient star regions such as the Primordial Ancient Star, the Ziwei Emperor Star, and the Big Dipper Burial Ground, during their most glorious golden ages, could such a terrifying scene be seen.
"Boom!"
Nine ancient dragon roars drowned out the battlefield's clamor. Nine azure Azure Dragon, their bodies nearly flattened and decaying yet still majestic, pulled a bronze chariot engraved with ancient battle patterns, crushing through the Void and brazenly entering the heart of the battlefield.
On the chariot, a blurry figure remained motionless, but the overwhelming power sweeping across the eight directions and six realms froze the space within a thousand miles.
"A Great Saint of the Human Race, or even Quasi-Emperor who has touched the Imperial Pass?" Li Qingshan's pupils shrank slightly, and he felt a chill run down his spine.
Earth was also referred to as the Primordial Ancient Star by ancient cultivators, which gives a glimpse into the terrifying depths of its existence.
However, this awe-inspiring spectacle did not captivate him.
Li Qingshan heart remained steadfast, a clear light flashing deep within his eyes as he murmured to himself, "A mirage, the remnants of time!"
His Immortal Platform sense rippled slightly, like clear water washing away dust.
In an instant, the earth-shaking shouts of battle, the soaring divine light, and the boundless vitality vanished like burst bubbles.
The scene before them suddenly changed: towering ancient trees turned to dust, magnificent palaces became sand dunes, and the vast battlefield filled with the aura of blood turned into an endless, lifeless, crimson desert. The so-called sacred mountain beneath their feet was nothing more than a huge bedrock level with the ground.
A chill, an ancient and icy feeling, is coming from beneath my feet.
Li Qingshan looked down and saw the ancient altar, almost buried by red sand, built of five kinds of strangely colored stones— the Five-Colored Altar.
It was this that imprinted the ancient years buried deep within this place into his heart.
"Revisiting an old haunt." Li Qingshan understood.
Eleven years ago, the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin, carrying Ye Fan and other students, passed by this altar, made a brief stop, and then headed to Big Dipper.
The star coordinates he obtained from the Immortal Mansion World were different from those on this route; otherwise, reaching this place directly would have taken even less time.
He stepped down from the altar, the reddish-brown sand rustling softly beneath his feet.
Not far away, a towering boulder stands like a silent tombstone. Walking around to its shaded side, two huge, ancient characters, as big as a bucket and written in vigorous strokes, come into view: Mars.
The flickering firelight, chaotic and bewildering. Mars is the ancient name for Mars.
That's right, it's this ancient, dead star that holds Buddhist relics and ancient demons. I only caught a fleeting glimpse of it eleven years ago, and now it returns in a completely different form.
This place once housed the Great Thunderclap Temple, and also the flesh-eating Crocodile Ancestor and his descendant, the Divine Crocodile. In the past, when he passed by with the coffin, he even manifested his divine power and slew many such demons.
This Five-Colored Altar, in an untraceable ancient era, may have stood atop a sacred mountain brimming with spiritual energy, worshipped by all races. Now, times have changed, the sacred mountain has crumbled, the stars have died, and only the altar itself remains, telling tales of vicissitudes amidst the wind and sand.
The extreme temperature fluctuations and air depletion that would kill ordinary people are now meaningless to Li Qingshan.
His physical body had been tempered and could already endure for long periods in the Void of space. Although this place was desolate, it was better than the environment of deep space.
Too much.
He remembered that there used to be a faint light barrier covering several miles around here, protecting the last sanctuary. Now it seemed that the light barrier had finally exhausted its last bit of power and completely dissipated.
" Crocodile Ancestor, where should that old demon be right now?" Li Qingshan looked around, his divine sense spreading like an invisible tide. "Most likely, it's still lurking in the Mars Demon Sea Eye. I returned more than ten years earlier than Ye Fan, there's no reason for it to leave before me."
Things are different now! In the past, he had to rely on the mysterious power of the bronze coffin to escape the pursuit of the Demon Saint when he rode in a coffin. Now, he has reached a higher realm and wants to test how much of the ancient Demon Saint's ferocity this old crocodile, which has been suppressed for two thousand years, still possesses. As a Saint-level existence, he has fought his way here and has not been without his slaying.
With his mind calmed like an ancient well, Li Qingshan stopped and strode towards the ruins of the Great Thunderclap Temple that he remembered.
The starlight was dim, and Mars under the night sky appeared even more mysterious and eerie. Only his footsteps were the sole rhythm in this world of death.
Eleven years of wind and sand have been enough to cover up many traces. The few miles of "pure land" that were once protected by a faint light curtain have now been completely swallowed up by the red sand, and are no different from the surrounding desert.
After a long walk, the outline of a collapsed ruin finally emerged in the darkness.
The once-prosperous Buddhist sanctuary was now a scene of ruin, with broken walls and rubble everywhere. Yet, amidst the broken bricks and tiles, Li Qingshan keenly spotted a few withered, yellow leaves of extraordinary quality, faintly retaining a trace of something almost imperceptible.
The serene and tranquil atmosphere is like the withered leaves of the Bodhi Sacred Tree, the tree of Buddhist wisdom.
Sudden!
A chilling sense of unease rose up his spine. Without turning around, Li Qingshan's consciousness clearly reflected the scene behind him:
Dao Body appeared silently amidst the dark ruins!
The figure was as majestic as a mountain, standing silently three zhang behind him, hidden in the darkness. Only a pair of eyes shone with a terrifying light, like two slowly burning blue ghost lamps, coldly "staring" at him.
"Playing tricks?" Li Qingshan's voice rang out in the deathly silence, devoid of joy or sorrow, even carrying a hint of indifference.
His leap in strength gave him absolute confidence, as the strange and terrifying experiences he had encountered on his long path of cultivation far exceeded this.
Even if a Quasi-Emperor were to appear at this moment, he could remain focused and single-minded. The Beginningless Bell was his last trump card, enough to overturn the world.
Seemingly sensing the unfathomable calmness in his aura, the two "green lamps" suddenly dimmed, and his majestic figure vanished into thin air like smoke and mist, as if he had never appeared at all.
But the next moment, the ghostly figures reappeared! Not just in one place, but several burly demonic figures appeared and disappeared around the ruins and among the broken walls and pillars, drifting like the wind, exuding an extremely dense aura of yin energy and resentment, as if the ghost kings of the Underworld were patrolling the world.
Li Qingshan's eyes flashed, and he immediately understood. "It's not a living creature, but a manifestation of the demon god that Shakyamuni refined into the foundation of this Temple-Guarding Demon God using the sealing method!"
With a flick of his sleeve, a gentle yet irresistible force surged forth, sweeping away all the broken beams and tiles covering a certain area, revealing the terrifying foundation beneath.