Chapter 1282 - 911: Entrance to the Material Realm of the 33 Heavens

Zhang Chen’s eyes were filled with disbelief; he had actually sensed, underground, a breath coming from the Thirty-Three Heavens. Could it be that the new world entrance discovered by the Great Victory Dynasty’s court was in fact the legendary entrance to the Thirty-Three Heavens?

But for the Material Realm to lead into the Spiritual World, to open a passage, how unimaginably difficult was that? Even if the Princess did not have the Golden Scissors, she would still be unable to shatter the barrier between the Material Realm and the Spiritual World.

Zhang Chen’s little heart was now pounding wildly. If there truly existed, in the real world, an entrance leading to the Thirty-Three Heavens, then this was a monumental matter. If those great horrors within the Spiritual World were to crawl out through the passage, what would he do then?

Those were all existences surpassing the Twelfth Tier—was he to ascend in Extreme Realm or not? If he did not undergo Extreme Realm Ascension, he would be utterly unable to defeat them. Yet once he broke through the Dao Fruit realm, then his Essence, Qi, and Spirit Origin would inevitably drain away, and the only outcome left for him would be death.

Zhang Chen realized that a huge trouble was at hand—a trouble far from ordinary!

He moved his steps, going down the underground stairs one step at a time. The stairway space was rather broad, at least ten times wider than a modern stairwell. On both sides burned lamps refined from Demon Beast oil, capable of lasting a hundred years without going out, illuminating the entire passage as bright as day.

The farther down he went, the more Zhang Chen could sense the pure energy diffused in the air—that was the unique essence of Heaven and Earth coming from the Thirty-Three Heavens.

"There must be a passage here leading to the Spiritual World! The so‑called new world of the Great Victory Dynasty is actually the Spiritual World. I just don’t know which Heaven this passage of the Spiritual World leads to." Zhang Chen confirmed inwardly that the underground passage was precisely a passage into the Spiritual World.

Following the passage downward, Zhang Chen saw that on every level of the passage there was a gate, and beyond each gate stretched rows upon rows of corridors whose ends could not be seen. On either side of the corridor were doors to many rooms.

He could sense that within every door, there were gentle breaths drawing in the Mysterious Power in the air, their owners seated within the rooms cultivating.

Bu Er beside him noticed Zhang Chen’s gaze and explained, "Those doors are the secluded cultivation rooms of various prodigies. In every room there is a heaven‑favored genius in seclusion. Young Master, you will also have a room of your own in the future, where you can cultivate, increase your bloodline, strengthen your soul, and gain benefits beyond imagination."

Hearing this, Zhang Chen asked curiously, "There are quite a lot of rooms in here. It seems many people have joined the Mysterious Academy."

"The Great Victory Dynasty’s court has selected a total of three hundred and sixty prodigies from all over the realm. Most of the rooms here are empty—only about one percent of them are occupied." Bu Er replied.

"Why are those rooms empty? Why don’t they recruit more people?" Zhang Chen asked.

Bu Er shook his head. "That is not something a petty man like me is qualified to know."

The two of them passed through flight after flight of stairs and arrived at the seventy‑second level underground. They stopped at the stairway entrance, where there was a long corridor, with rows of tightly closed doorways to rooms on both sides of the corridor.

"Please come with me." Bu Er led the way in front, while Zhang Chen followed behind him down the passage, feeling very much as if he were entering a Celestial Prison.

Zhang Chen could sense that in this seventy‑second underground space, the density of Mysterious Power was dozens of times higher than outside.

They walked down the dim and deep corridor for several hundred meters, passing an unknown number of rooms, until they came before a peculiar room. In front of its door hung a lantern unlike any Zhang Chen had ever seen, emitting a pale yellow light. The radiance flowing from it carried Mysterious Power; even in Kyoto’s Dragon Qi that shattered Ten Thousand Techniques, there was still Mysterious Power that could be mobilized. Seven such lanterns existed in total, each hung before a different room.

"These are the residences of the seven gentlemen of the Academy. Every doorway with a lantern lit represents one gentleman." Speaking thus, they came to the seventh lantern, and Bu Er knocked on the door:

"Sir, Young Master Zhang Chen has arrived."

The door opened, revealing Zhou Qiucheng’s face. At this moment, he looked at Zhang Chen with a face full of joy and pulled him into the room. "You finally came."

The room was roughly fifty square meters in area. On the walls hung many glowing Luminous Pearls, lighting up the whole space so that it did not appear dim.

The furnishings inside were extremely simple: only a single table, with a bookshelf in front of it, along with brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. In one corner of the wall stood a small bed, and there was nothing else.

"I’ve already arranged things for you; you will directly enter the Academy. It’s just that the allocation of rooms is rather troublesome—we have to rely on contributions to assign lodgings, so your room can only be temporarily placed in the outer pavilions." Zhou Qiucheng explained everything in the Academy to Zhang Chen. "Right now, the most crucial matter is to resolve your identity issue. Only by resolving your identity issue can we truly remove this hidden danger from our hearts."

"The Emperor said I must render meritorious service within the Academy before my identity issue can be resolved. Please teach me, sir." Zhang Chen spoke.

Hearing Zhang Chen’s words, Zhou Qiucheng said, "I’ve already planned this out for you. At present, in its exploration of the new world, the Academy has encountered several obstacles. As long as you resolve one of these obstacles, it will count as great merit. By then, having the Emperor pardon your crimes will come naturally."

At this Zhang Chen nodded. Zhou Qiucheng could be said to have given it real thought. "My thanks, sir."

"Is there any need for thanks between the two of us?" Zhou Qiucheng said with a squinting smile.

As he spoke, Zhou Qiucheng walked to the desk. "This is top-secret information regarding the new world. I’ve already prepared it for you. You read while I explain it to you."

Zhang Chen picked up the documents on the desk and quietly leafed through them, while Zhou Qiucheng explained at his side: "The Great Victory Dynasty discovered this place eight hundred years ago. This place is an Ancient Great Tomb. Inside the tomb, mechanisms are layered upon one another, filled with all manner of strange perils. In the depths of the tomb, Mysterious Energy constantly wells out. Later, the Great Victory royal clan used the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Extinguishing Shuttle to force their way into the tomb. At the deepest point of that tomb, they found a passage leading to the new world. Then the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Extinguishing Shuttle suffered heavy damage and was destroyed, and it was handed over to the little princess, Chai Wenji."

"After losing the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Demon-Extinguishing Shuttle, the Great Victory royal clan was no longer able to pierce that final World Barrier. Everyone could only gaze at the new world through the barrier, unable to break into it. An old ancestor of the royal clan once peered across the barrier and said that within the world beyond, there are numberless rare flowers and exotic herbs, Spirit Medicine that extends lifespan beyond counting, and even Spirit Medicine that can directly allow a person to step into the Twelfth Tier." Zhou Qiucheng said.

"From this passage to the front of that World Barrier, there are a total of eight trials. Five have already been broken, and six trials remain. At the same time, during the breaking of these trials, the Academy has excavated countless Exotic Treasures; those treasures brim with inconceivable power. The Great Victory Dynasty is currently dispatching its students to probe the methods for using these Exotic Treasures; this is also the original purpose for which the Academy was established." Having said this, Zhou Qiucheng turned to Zhang Chen and said, "As long as you conquer one of the last two trials, or else decipher the method of using one Exotic Treasure, it will count as great merit, and the Human King will have grounds to pardon your crimes."

"Sir, you say this place is a great tomb?" Zhang Chen’s gaze swept over the materials, and he asked.

"Correct. In bygone years, there was an inconceivable existence that wanted to enter the new world. It erected altar after altar and laid formation after formation, seeking to break into the new world and seize Creation. Unfortunately, in the end it misplayed a single move, fell before the World Barrier, and subsequently turned this place into a great tomb. Later, this relic was discovered by the Great Victory royal clan." Zhou Qiucheng said.

With Zhang Chen’s current breadth of insight, he immediately analyzed the crux of the matter. In the past, Heaven and Earth must have undergone a great change, no longer able to tolerate cultivators of higher realms. Someone’s strength was insufficient; they could not ascend to the Spiritual World by their own power, so they chose to rely on external force to open a passage between the Material Realm and the Spiritual World, and thus built formations here. Unfortunately, in the end it was all wasted effort; they fell right before the World Barrier.

Looking at the documents in his hand, Zhang Chen then turned his head to look at Zhou Qiucheng. A faint, indescribable look surfaced in his eyes. He thought of the Queen Mother of the West. The people of the Great Victory Dynasty now were just like the Queen Mother of the West—a completely and utterly unlucky lot. The Queen Mother miscalculated the coordinates, entered the wrong world, and ended up buried within that world, never able to climb back out.

"Back then, the Queen Mother of the West was probably just like the Great Victory Dynasty—mistaking the target, staking everything on a single throw, and trapping herself in the process!" This thought rose in Zhang Chen’s heart.

As all sorts of thoughts flowed through his mind, over on the other side Zhou Qiucheng said, "That is roughly the situation. Will you choose to decipher a Secret Treasure excavated from within the great tomb, or go to break through the remaining trials before the World Barrier?"

Hearing Zhou Qiucheng’s words, Zhang Chen smiled. "Since I’ve come, I naturally want to take a look at the legendary new world. Toward an unknown world, I am very curious indeed."

Zhou Qiucheng nodded at this. "Very well, I’ll take you there at once."

The two of them walked out of Zhou Qiucheng’s room, passed by the seven lanterns at the end of the passage, and beyond the end of that passage lay a profound darkness, pitch-black and deep, its depths invisible.

"The room we were just in is only the entrance to the great tomb. What comes next is truly entering that Underground Palace, traversing that subterranean world, and approaching the World Barrier without limit." Zhou Qiucheng walked ahead, explaining for Zhang Chen.

Here Zhou Qiucheng’s speech paused for a moment. "On your way here, you must have seen many passages, and many rooms within those passages, yes?"

"Yes." Zhang Chen nodded to indicate that he had.

"Within every room, there is a mystery. Those mysteries are either incomplete, or currently impossible to decipher; all are waiting for someone fated to them." Zhou Qiucheng said.

"There’s a mystery in every single room?" Zhang Chen was stunned at these words.

How many rooms had he seen on his way here? How profound was the heritage of the Great Victory Dynasty?

"When this great tomb was first opened, too many mysterious objects were discovered inside, and there were many Undying Oddities among them. In those days, they were sent to the Exquisite Tower in Jinling to be imprisoned." Zhou Qiucheng explained.