Chapter 644 - 40: Immortal Fate

Outside the great tomb was a phantasmagorical sight.

A black-and-white Chaotic Turbulence surged forth like a furious tide, yet the great tomb traveled upstream against it. Under the relentless assault of this Chaotic Turbulence, it flickered constantly between states of disintegration and perfect integrity.

The Undying Jade!

Feng Yan’s husband had once used this very treasure to attain a near-immortal body. No matter how grievous his wounds, he would always revert to his uninjured state.

And so it was now.

Enveloped in a halo of light, the great tomb traversed the Chaotic Turbulence. It felt as if they had entered a warped expanse of space and time where destruction and rebirth, past and future, intertwined, making Fang Cheng’s very soul dizzy.

He was inwardly astonished and retracted his Divine Sense.

’The power of this Chaotic Turbulence is immense,’ he mused. ’An ordinary Ninth Tribulation Cultivator probably wouldn’t last long in here without a Sixth-rank Magical Artifact for protection.’

Feng Yan’s expression was as placid as still water as she calmly piloted the ancient tomb through the Chaotic Turbulence. However, the faint glimmer of excitement and anticipation that occasionally flashed in her eyes revealed that her heart was anything but calm.

A long time later, the great tomb broke through the Chaotic Turbulence, leaping out from the Yin Yang Chaos River and emerging above its surface.

A colossal vessel came into their view.

The Yin Yang Chaos River was vast and mighty, stretching on without end. They could see neither its beginning nor its end, nor could they make out its banks.

Upon the river, an ancient and dilapidated giant black ship drifted downstream.

Black banners, black masts, black sails, black Cloud Towers, black oars.

The ship was so massive it far exceeded the range of Fang Cheng’s Divine Sense. Judging by sight alone, it was like when he had observed the entire Red Profound Realm from beyond its Heaven-Defining Membrane.

This vast, towered ship appeared in his vision like an entire World Heaven; he could not take in its full scale.

It had nine-story corner towers that bobbed and surged with its movement, and it approached the ancient tomb with an air of irresistible majesty.

Feng Yan piloted the ancient tomb upward. It took the better part of half a day before they reached the height of the Immortal Ship’s deck, and the tomb sailed into one of the corner towers.

The interior of the Immortal Ship was completely different from the towered vessels of the Human Race. It housed countless enormous portals that seemed to be carved directly into the solid walls, leaving no seams.

According to legend, a Taixu Token could only open one of these portals. The next time a Taixu Token appeared, it would be ejected from the Taixu Gate with no discernible pattern.

Following an inexplicable sense, Feng Yan came to a portal on the third floor of the corner tower.

The ancient tomb flew toward the portal. The instant it touched the doorway, a spiritual light flared, and they entered a pocket of void a hundred li in radius.

Within this void floated dozens of islands. Seven of them bore man-made traces—palaces, tombs...

Fang Cheng’s two avatars and Feng Yan emerged from the ancient tomb. They landed on the seven islands to investigate them carefully, and after piecing the clues together, they finally understood the true origin of this Immortal Ship.

It is common knowledge that one Age is ten thousand, eight hundred years.

One Eon consists of twelve Ages, totaling one hundred twenty-nine thousand, six hundred years.

One Primordial Calamity is fifty thousand Eons.

The myriad heavens of the Lower Realm measure time in years, existing on the scale of Eons.

But in the Spiritual Sky Realm, time is measured by Quantitative Calamities. For those immortals who possess endless lifespans, their long lives are measured on the scale of Quantitative Calamities.

According to the many clues recorded on the Floating Islands, this ancient and massive Immortal Ship was a treasure left behind from the previous Primordial Calamity.

Long ago, a mighty being discovered this ship in the Returning Ruins Vortex, brought it back to the Spiritual Sky Realm, and sealed it within the Taixu Gate.

Through exploration, they discovered that the ship possessed the Supreme Power to traverse the Power of Light Yin.

Although immortals theoretically have endless lifespans, they still face many disasters and calamities, meaning they are not truly undying.

Those grievously wounded, near-death Spirit Immortals could enter this Immortal Ship and pass away here. By doing so, a sliver of their True Spirit could traverse the River of Time to appear in the past and reawaken in their former selves!

It was like living life all over again.

These Spirit Immortals often went on to achieve even more brilliant accomplishments than in their previous lives.

However, some made missteps and perished even sooner.

Not just anyone could enter the Immortal Ship; a token was required. Otherwise, even a mighty Spirit Immortal could not break through the ship’s portals!

Every ten thousand years, the Immortal Ship would generate several Taixu Tokens, which gradually led to many mighty Spirit Immortals fighting over them.

Those Spirit Immortals who obtained a Taixu Token, even if they were not on the verge of death, would board the Immortal Ship to inspect the treasures and legacies left behind by their predecessors in the corresponding "cabin," hoping to seize a fortuitous immortal opportunity.

Fang Cheng and Feng Yan had a rough idea of what happened next.

The Taixu Immortal Ship attracted the greed and conflict of too many Spirit Immortals. A world-shaking war erupted, which ultimately led to the Lingkong Celestial Ruins falling into the Lower Realm.

In the "cabin" corresponding to Feng Yan’s Taixu Token, a total of seven Spirit Immortals had passed away.

The tombs, Heritage Mansions, and Immortal Collections left by the first three Spirit Immortals had all been plundered by the fourth, a Demon Path Spirit Immortal. He either destroyed the Heritage Mansions and the corpses of the Spirit Immortals or refined them into Magical Artifacts, leaving nothing behind for his successors.

The place where this Demon Path Spirit Immortal himself passed away was also completely empty. All that remained was a Stone Stele engraved with mocking words. He then destroyed his own body, perishing upon the Immortal Ship.

The fifth Spirit Immortal was a great power from the Demon Race. His true form was a Bixi from the Upper Realm. He had built his own tomb here, leaving behind the Cultivation Technique legacy, cultivation insights, and life experiences he had accumulated, as well as numerous treasures for those who would come after.