True Lords Carrying a Coffin!

Location: Forbidden Area of the Wuji Sacred Sect, Cross-Dimensional Ancient Array Platform.

Qi Yun, holding the [Six Realms Heaven], stood in the center of an ancient platform over a hundred feet tall.

Desolate Halberd True Lord did not personally attend the farewell ceremony. Only a pale golden mark containing his will floated above the array platform, as if overseeing the ceremony and as a final safety measure.

Qi Yun a deep breath, suppressing all distracting thoughts, and slowly channeled his Law Power into the bronze cube in his hand.

"Buzz--!"

The Six Realms Heaven suddenly trembled!

The ancient seal script characters on the surface, as fine as fly heads, lit up one after another like sparks ignited in an instant, bursting out with a soft, dark blue light.

The light, like mercury spilling onto the ground, quickly spread along Qi Yun's arm to his entire body, enveloping him in a dark blue cocoon of light.

At the same time, the bronze cube detached from Qi Yun's palm, hovering three feet above his head, and began to rotate slowly and steadily.

With each rotation, its shape becomes more ethereal.

The surrounding space, however, resembled the surface of water tossed with a pebble, rippling outwards in ever-growing, transparent waves with strangely twisted edges.

"Bang--!!!"

At the center of the platform, the eerie blue light of [Six Realms Heaven] suddenly collapsed inward to its limit, and then exploded with a roar!

A chaotic stream of colorless liquid instantly pierced through the space above the array platform, extending into an immeasurable depths!

The moment the passage took shape, the cocoon of pale blue light, carrying Qi Yun, was pulled into it by an irresistible suction force and disappeared.

Only the slowly calming spatial ripples and the fading pale golden True Lord mark above the array platform remained.

Qi Yun was enveloped in a stable "bubble" formed by the power of the [Six Realms Heaven], gliding along that bizarre and extremely unstable passage at a speed beyond reason.

Beyond the passage lies not the ordinary cosmic sky, but a place called the [Void Sea].

There are no ups and downs, no directions, no past or future, only endless, ever-changing turbulent currents.

Occasionally, one can see indescribable figures drifting aimlessly in the Void Sea, casting indifferent glances at the [Six Realms Heaven] passage that brushes past them.

Here, distance is distorted, and cause and effect become blurred.

In the midst of this dizzying journey, at a certain moment, Qi Yun's gaze was drawn to a "band of light" that was so vast and bright it was impossible to look directly at, located to the side of the passage.

No, that wasn't a band of light.

That was a river!

A mighty Void Sea, its source and end unknown, its width immeasurable. It seems to be a colossal river formed by the convergence and flow of countless glittering stars, vibrant Daoist rhythms, undulating lights and shadows of civilizations, the ever-changing world's bubbles, and the purest power of time and destiny!

The sound of the rushing river, inaudible to the ear, directly resonated with Qi Yun's Dao Foundation and Divine Soul. It was the relentless and irreversible Heavenly Dao decree of the eternal years!

"This is...[the Heaven and Earth's Long River of Time]?!"

Qi Yun was shocked and looked surprised.

He never expected to see this supreme river again outside the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Just as Qi Yun was wondering...

Deep within the Void Sea on the other side of the passage, another anomaly occurs!

A deep, heavy shadow, capable of absorbing all light and probing, is moving at a constant and slow pace in a direction roughly parallel to the Long River of Time.

Qi Yun focused all his attention on looking at it.

That was a coffin!

The entire piece presents a dark gold color that has endured countless ages and accumulated endless sense of desolation. Its shape is so simple that it is almost crude, without any superfluous patterns.

Only at the seam between the coffin lid and the coffin body, fine, spiderweb-like cracks could be faintly seen, subtly radiating an aura of isolation.

The town was enveloped in a terrifying atmosphere.

The coffin was not particularly large, about a thousand feet long.

But against the backdrop of the desolate and boundless Void Sea, it appears unusually abrupt and—heavy.

And beneath this ancient and mysterious bronze coffin.

Four figures stood at four corners, carrying the coffins on their shoulders, moving forward silently!

The four figures were shrouded in a hazy halo, making it impossible to discern their exact shapes; only their general outlines could be vaguely discerned.

But each figure naturally exudes an aura of "Tao" that is both immense and pure to the extreme!

Qi Yun had only recently encountered this kind of aura.

True Lord!

Four genuine True Lord- level beings!

"True Lord carrying a coffin?!"

An absurd yet undeniably real thought exploded in Qi Yun's Sea of Consciousness like a thunderclap!

The four True Lord were now like laborers, carrying an ancient bronze coffin on their shoulders, traversing the treacherous Void Sea?

What being is buried in the coffin? Why must four True Lord personally carry it for its farewell?

Where are we headed?

Countless questions and unspeakable horror instantly overwhelmed Qi Yun.

The coffin-carrying team did not notice the passing of this "dust" of [Six Realms Heaven].

Maintaining a constant speed and silence, they gradually intersected with the passageway, heading towards the deeper and more unpredictable reaches of the Void Sea.

Ultimately, it disappeared into the background where endless chaos and the radiance of the Long River of Time intertwined.

Only the shock left by that fleeting glimpse, and the heavy, silent image of that ancient bronze coffin, were deeply imprinted in the depths of Qi Yun's Dao heart.

I don't know how much time passed; perhaps it was a moment, perhaps a long time.

The passage to the [Six Realms Heaven] suddenly trembled, and a completely different resistance and texture came from ahead.

Qi Yun recovered from his shock and focused his gaze.

At the end of the passage, a hazy yet enormous phantom of a "boundary membrane" was slowly unfolding.

The boundary membrane presented a vast, ancient, and faintly bluish-gray luster. Within it, one could vaguely see undulating mountains and rivers, and ever-changing winds and clouds. Furthermore, a kind of celestial and earthly Daoist charm, different from the Xuanhuang World yet equally vast and profound, permeated the air.

The Azure Gate Realm Heaven —we've arrived!

The eerie blue light of the [Six Realms Heaven] began to flicker intensely, cautiously "probing" towards the azure boundary membrane.

An attempt was made to quietly open an entrance without causing drastic disruption.

Qi Yun took a deep breath, his gaze regaining focus and calm.

An unfamiliar world, lurking crises, and a lost [Fruition Status]—all await him behind that azure membrane.

The cocoon of light, carrying Qi Yun, appeared on the edge of a desolate hilly area.

Then the bronze cube of [Six Realms Heaven] transformed into a ray of light and disappeared into Qi Yun, falling into complete silence and entering a long [accumulation of energy] state.

The moment their feet touched the Azure Gate earth, a vast and ancient spiritual energy, completely different from the Xuanhuang World, rushed towards them.

But almost at the same instant his body solidified and his senses returned, Qi Yun did not hesitate at all, and did not even open his eyes to look at his surroundings.

The admonition of the Desolate Halberd True Lord was like an iron law branded into Divine Soul, instantly arousing it to its extreme.

"Seal up!"

Buzz!

Qi Yun's pores, acupoints, and even his Divine Sense were completely sealed off from the inside in an instant!

The surging Law Power within his body was forcibly suppressed, compressed, and stored deep within his Dao Foundation, like frozen amber.

An invisible wave surged within the Purple Mansion's Sea of Consciousness, pulling back all outward-directed divine thoughts, enveloping and sealing them layer by layer.

Even the flow of his physical Qi and Blood, the beating of his heart, and the rhythm of his breathing were suppressed to the extreme.

A mysterious, obscure, heavy, and withered aura spread through his body.

Wherever his Qi passed, his skin, hair, and Daoist robes...

All external appearances begin to rapidly lose their vitality and color, and their texture becomes rough, hard, and cold.

The deep blue Daoist robe was stained with the gray and white of wind, frost, and rocks. The texture of his skin transformed into natural stone patterns. The outline of his eyebrows and eyes was solidified and subtly adjusted in the gray-brown light. He lost some of the liveliness of a living person and gained more of the ruggedness and vicissitudes of nature's creation.

In just a few breaths, the young Daoist with the profound aura had vanished.

In its place stands a stone statue about seven feet tall, with a natural posture, dark gray in color, almost blending into the surrounding rocks!

At the very instant that Qi Yun completed this self-sealing and completely turned into a stone statue!

A cold, superior gaze, looking down upon all living beings, crashed down upon them.

It swept across this wilderness, across the hills and vegetation, across the streams and soil, and naturally it also swept across this "newly appeared" stone statue.

Under this "gaze".

Even though Qi Yun had sealed himself to the extreme, turning into a stubborn rock, a sense of tremor still involuntarily arose deep within his Purple Mansion.

The feeling was as if you were standing naked on an icy plain, enveloped by the omnipresent cold wind and absolute zero.

There's nowhere to escape!

There's nowhere to hide!

Fortunately, that "gaze" lingered on the stone statue for a moment before receding like the tide, leaving no trace.

But that cold, indifferent, and supremely majestic aura that seemed to control the universe made Qi Yun feel an even greater sense of oppression than that of True Lord!

This is the Heaven's Will of Heaven in [Azure Gate]!

The crisis has been temporarily averted.

The stone statue remains silent, blending into the mountains and fields.

Sun rises and sets, cold seasons come and heat goes.

The rough, grayish-brown stone statues stand silently on the edge of the wild slope, enduring wind, rain, sun, and frost.

After the first spring rain, several clumps of tender green grass sprouted from the damp soil at the foot of the stone statue, followed by scattered wildflowers.

In the sweltering summer heat, vines climbed up the legs of the stone statue, their dense leaves providing shade and leaving behind winding green trails.

The autumn wind was bleak, and withered grass and fallen leaves piled up around the stone statue. A few unidentified wild fruits rolled down and rotted at the foot of the statue, turning into soil.

The winter snow covered most of the stone statue, with only its shoulders and slightly drooping head visible. From a distance, it looked like a strange rock naturally rising from the mountains.

Gradually, villagers from nearby villages who went into the mountains to cut firewood and gather herbs discovered this stone statue that "appeared at some unknown time".

Its posture is serene, and although its features are indistinct, it possesses an indescribable air of grandeur, quite different from the surrounding rocks.

"Perhaps it is the manifestation of the mountain god, leaving behind his Dharma Body?" an old man speculated.

So, at some point, a small clearing was cleared out in front of the stone statue.

Some people picked up flat stones and used them as offering tables; others placed a few fruits and vegetables they had grown themselves, which were not very fresh; and someone even brought a coarse pottery incense burner with a small hole in it, with a few sticks of incense that had long since burned out and were now just bamboo sticks stuck in it.

The stone statue became a wild god on this nameless hillside, a place where no temple was built to worship it.

Children occasionally play here, curiously touching the cold "body" of the stone statue.

Passing travelers would stop to rest and bow twice before the stone statue, praying for peace.

Some daring teenagers even tried to climb onto the statue's shoulders, but always failed because of the slippery moss growing on the statue's surface.

Day after day, month after month.

In Clear Source County City, outside the mountains, the market opens and closes, and crops are harvested one after another.

The vegetation on the wild slopes has gone through several cycles of withering and flourishing.

The offerings in front of the stone statue have been changed countless times, and the rough pottery incense burner is filled with rainwater and dust.

In the blink of an eye.

Nearly three hundred days and nights have quietly passed in the Azure Gate Realm.

On this day, the sunlight was exceptionally bright.

After a night of rain, the sky cleared, revealing a pristine blue expanse without a single cloud.

The golden-red sunrise leaped over the eastern mountain ridge, showering the earth with countless rays of light and dispelling the last traces of morning chill and mist.

On the wild slope, dewdrops on the leaves of grass and trees refracted a rainbow of colors.

A ray of sunlight fell on the stone statue.

There was a click-clack sound----

The stone statue, which had been silent for nearly a year, slowly developed a small crack.