Chapter 589 - 428: Life Wheel, Lifespan, Seeking Truth Realm

The meaning behind the Bronze Stone Sculptures’ actions was very simple. They stood guard here at the Bronze Gate. Anyone wishing to pass through them into the Unique True Realm needed to pay a "toll."

To put it bluntly,

they wanted something.

There was a saying that put it well.

Meeting the king of hell is easy, but his minions are the real trouble.

This was exactly that.

If Xu Qing didn’t give them a "toll," they wouldn’t open the Bronze Gate for him. And if that happened, Xu Qing wouldn’t be able to enter the Unique True Realm.

"Heh."

Xu Qing let out a laugh. "I didn’t expect to run into two troublesome little imps at the very gates, before I’ve even set foot in the Unique True Realm."

HUM!

The next moment,

Xu Qing reached out, unleashing the Power of the Tenth Realm.

"You... You..."

"Hiss..."

Instantly,

the two Bronze Stone Sculptures’ expressions twisted in terror. The aura emanating from Xu Qing was so frightening it left them utterly aghast.

HUM!

This Power struck the two Bronze Stone Sculptures directly. Their bodies warped and twisted until they were forcibly transformed into paintings, like door gods, which Xu Qing then plastered onto the Bronze Gate.

"Spare us! Spare us!!"

On the Bronze Gate,

the two Bronze Stone Sculptures, now reduced to paintings, cried out in terror, begging for their lives.

HUM!

The next moment,

an incredible flame ignited in Xu Qing’s palm. It instantly incinerated the two paintings of the Bronze Stone Sculptures, burning them to ash until nothing remained.

CRACK! CRACK!

Immediately after,

the Bronze Gate stirred, slowly opening a crack before swinging wide open before Xu Qing.

"Huu..."

Xu Qing took a deep breath. He stared at the open Bronze Gate and the unknown world within, his heart filled with both tension and apprehension.

Finally,

Xu Qing’s emotions completely calmed. He solidified the conviction in his heart and walked toward the Bronze Gate, slowly stepping onto the bronze path that lay within.

Just then,

Xu Qing felt a stirring behind him. He turned to see the Bronze Gate he had just passed through slowly swinging shut.

"Hmph."

Xu Qing’s expression was pensive. ’Since I’ve already decided to step through the Bronze Gate and enter the Unique True Realm, there’s no reason to hesitate.’

And so,

with a resolute expression, Xu Qing turned his head forward again. He paid the Bronze Gate no more mind and continued along the bronze path beneath his feet.

The area around the bronze path was an endless darkness. As Xu Qing walked onward, farther and farther,

gradually,

the endless darkness around him began to change. Specks of starlight slowly appeared in the lonely void, blossoming into a vast, brilliant, and dazzling starry sky.

After that,

Xu Qing discovered that after walking for a very long time, the world around him had changed, as if its very dimension had been elevated. Before, with his Power, Xu Qing could have easily altered his surroundings, even remaking the Rules and the Great Dao itself.

But,

now he couldn’t.

The elevation of the world’s dimension made Xu Qing realize his Power had changed. It felt suppressed. Or more accurately, his Power, his strength, and his Realm hadn’t changed at all. What had changed was the world he was in—his surroundings.

As a result,

Xu Qing gradually found he couldn’t even tear through space anymore.

Not only that,

Xu Qing, who had once been eternally indestructible with an infinite Lifespan, was no longer either of those things now that he had arrived in the Unique True Realm.

...

Xu Qing took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and perceived everything within himself. He discovered that he could sense the existence of something called a Life Wheel.

The Life Wheel.

As its name implied, it was the wheel of one’s Lifespan.

Upon the Life Wheel,

were a total of nine Black Annual Rings.

One Black Annual Ring represented ten years of Lifespan.

"This..."

Xu Qing was stunned. A look of disbelief crossed his face as he murmured, "So, everything I thought I knew was wrong? After entering the Unique True Realm, not only do you fail to achieve true ’eternal indestructibility,’ but you’re even shackled by a limited Lifespan."

"Most importantly,"

"at my current Realm and Cultivation, I only possess nine Black Annual Rings. That means I have a mere ninety years of Lifespan."

Unbelievable.

It was simply unbelievable.

This was completely different from what Xu Qing had imagined. He found it almost impossible to accept.

"So..."

Xu Qing murmured to himself, "what’s the point of coming to the Unique True Realm? From the very beginning, the goal of entering the Unique True Realm was to step into the Tenth Realm and achieve true eternal indestructibility, avoiding the Chaos Great Tribulation."

"Now,"

"I have indeed entered the Unique True Realm and stepped into the Tenth Realm, but I haven’t obtained the result I wanted. I can’t achieve true eternal indestructibility at all."

Xu Qing gradually calmed down.

In truth,

Xu Qing’s purpose in entering the Unique True Realm was, of course, to achieve true eternal indestructibility. But at the same time, he also wanted to pursue a higher Realm, greater strength, and the ultimate mysteries...

After all,

if Xu Qing were still in the Sea of Chaos, his strength in the Tenth Realm would have been enough to make him the Lord of Chaos Sea, the most powerful existence within it.

He could have even

turned the entire Sea of Chaos into his personal backyard, doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted.