Chapter 563 - 517: The Heaven-Reaching Platform Hidden in the Void (Part 2)

Chapter 563: Chapter 517: The Heaven-Reaching Platform Hidden in the Void (Part 2)

...

The Jishui River was turbulent, its waves no less fierce than the great ocean.

Such a vast Great River was a natural breeding ground for all sorts of demonic creatures. Any given stretch of water could be home to thousands of Water Beasts, yet they wouldn’t even stir a ripple on the surface.

In the past, the Jishui River had a Demon King every hundred miles and a Great Demon every thousand.

It had even given rise to the Water Jing Dragon King, whose Demon Race forces were comparable in scale to the Star Constellation Sea of today.

Unfortunately, it was in a poor location.

Too far from the Outer Sea and too close to the Central Domain. During the Near Ancient era, the major Super Sects had joined forces to scour its waters hundreds of times over.

In the section of the river that flowed through the Central Domain, not only were Transformed Great Demons gone, but even Tier Three Demon Kings had become nearly extinct, a rare sight.

The vile customs that once plagued the Jishui’s banks—Water Beasts stirring up trouble, coming ashore to abduct people, sacrificing Child Maidens to the River God—all began to disappear.

The fertile fields irrigated by the Jishui River now sustained countless people.

A few Cultivators, each with a distinct appearance, wore wide-sleeved robes. They had an immortal-like bearing and an aura so profound and imposing that it made them difficult to approach.

Each wore a Star God Mask, its painted design simple and direct, creating a powerful visual impact.

Some had strange Escape Techniques, others had astonishing tunneling speeds. There wasn’t a single weakling among the seven. Despite the countless experts on both sides of the Jishui River, they silently reached a bend in the waterway.

The seven exchanged a glance, nodded, and entered the water one by one.

After diving a hundred zhang, the current began to slow. It was dark all around; no light could penetrate to this depth.

Wherever the seven dark figures passed, the water parted on its own. As they followed one another forward, they startled several Six-Bearded Catfish into a panicked frenzy, sending them scattering in all directions.

In a river devoid of powerful Water Beasts, the Six-Bearded Catfish were practically the natural overlords, occupying the areas on the riverbed with the most abundant aquatic plants and densest populations of fish and shrimp.

At this moment, two of them went belly-up, having fainted from sheer terror.

Another one swam so fast that it slammed into a black rock at the bottom and stopped moving altogether.

With seven Nascent Soul True Monarchs present, the fact that these Water Beasts, not even at Tier Three, weren’t instantly killed by the pressure was a testament to their resilience.

"This is the place. We will all use our Sky-Breaking Talismans at once and find the Heaven-Reaching Platform as quickly as possible!"

Po Jun Star Monarch distributed the ink-black, triangular Talismans to each of the Star Lords. These Tier Four Talismans were designed to quickly create a spatial rift for entering the void.

Their primary use was for escaping. Activating one would allow a person to instantly cross the void and reappear a thousand miles away.

Despite the fatal flaw of being unable to control the direction, its ease of activation and ability to ignore most Forbidden Treasures still made it a life-saving Spirit Talisman for many Cultivators.

Using it now, of course, was not for escaping.

The seven activated their Sky-Breaking Talismans simultaneously, but not upon themselves. Soon, a black speck began to expand.

It grew from the size of a grain of rice to several feet in circumference, then merged with the black patches created by the others.

It was similar to the spatial rifts experienced when opening a Realm—as dark as a pool of ink and radiating a dangerous aura.

However, since it was actively opened with Sky-Breaking Talismans, there was at least some guarantee of safety.

"Everyone, although this is only the surface of the void, we cannot be careless... If you get lost in here, no one can save you!"

As soon as Po Jun Star Monarch finished speaking, a Star Chain floated up, shining with nine different types of starlight that layered upon him as blessings.

He then plunged into the void and vanished in the next instant.

"A Void Spiritual Treasure!"

There was a hint of jealous, gritted-teeth anger in the Deity of the Moon’s voice. She pulled a Jue Pearl Golden Hairpin from her hair, and her black, silk-like tresses fell smoothly over her shoulders.

The Jue Pearl Golden Hairpin transformed into the phantom of a Merfolk, which cupped its hands, enveloping her in a protective, faint white light.

One advantage Po Jun Star Monarch had was that his true identity was no secret to the other Star Lords.

He only needed to conceal it in front of outsiders. In a gathering of only Star Lords, he could freely use the treasures registered under the name of Zhuo Xiong of the Celestial Star Sect.

This Star Chain, for instance, was a famous Void Spiritual Treasure from the Celestial Star Sect. Po Jun Star Monarch had likely specifically requested it from the Sect for this operation.

Aside from him, the other Star Lords were not so bold.

They didn’t dare to casually use Magical Treasures that were clearly tied to their personal identities or borrow their Sect’s legacy treasures.

Jumeng Star Star Monarch snorted coldly, seemingly dissatisfied. He stepped in eight directions as an Auspicious Beast materialized to protect his body, its rosy light intensifying. He then strode into the darkness.

Facing the man-made spatial rift, all the Star Lords were cautious, each displaying their own Divine Techniques.

While some acted with disdain, others hesitated, a worried look in their eyes.

Lianzhen Star Star Monarch had no valuable possessions. Faced with this situation, he could only spit out a small silver sword that took on a crude liquid form to protect himself.

This Ancient Sword Cultivator clearly lacked a prestigious background or a top-tier inheritance, and he still held a trace of anxiety about entering the void.

Bai Zichen wasn’t one to joke with his life at a time like this. He summoned the Exquisite Primordial Pagoda. Countless Treasure Beads shimmered, and the torn space around him actually began to stabilize.

The inky blackness gained a pattern when it came into contact with the Treasure Pagoda, no longer flowing and erupting without warning.

This Top-Grade Void Spirit Treasure, obtained from Ao Zhe, could not only seal the void to prevent opponents from escaping...

...but could also protect its user. Even if caught in void turbulence, with the Exquisite Primordial Pagoda in hand, he could last for an extra half-moment.

In this surface-level void, having a Void Spiritual Treasure of this Tier basically made him infallible.

The Outer Sea Demon Clan had most likely already guessed that he had killed Ao Zhe.

Whether they knew about it or not, the Outer Sea Demon Clan, led by the Star Constellation Sea, already had enough reason to see him as a sworn enemy, wishing they could drink his blood and eat his flesh.

Revealing one more piece of evidence wasn’t a big deal anymore.

’Venerable Lou Lan chose this place as an Ascension point, which proves it has the most suitable Void Node. These Banished Immortals from the Upper Realm have experience crossing between realms, so their understanding of Void Passages far surpasses that of Human World Cultivators. Those Divinity Transformation Cultivators use Compasses and hold Ancient Books, searching for the so-called old sites of the Ascension Platform and collecting the most suitable spatial nodes for Ascension, but who can guarantee how many of those are actually useful?’

The moment he stepped into the darkness, the scene before his eyes changed, and he lost his center of gravity. Bai Zichen’s thoughts drifted further.

’The Heaven-Reaching Platform, a spatial node...’

’Doesn’t that create the most suitable location for Ascension? Perhaps it will be useful to me in the future.’

The others might not have lacked this insight, but the strongest among them was only at the Mid-Stage Nascent Soul realm, still a million miles away from Divinity Transformation.

And as for the even more distant Ascension... ever since the Ascension Platform disappeared, one could basically declare that the Earth Immortal Realm had been cut off from this world, severing their hierarchical connection.

Only Bai Zichen, who possessed the Mysterious Holy Body, had complete confidence in his future and had even pondered the difficulty of Ascension.

That was why he was the first to consider whether the Heaven-Reaching Platform could aid his own Ascension, rather than just thinking about the rumored Tier Five Flying Sword.

After Bai Zichen entered, the remaining few Star Monarchs hesitated for a moment before all stepping into the black patch.

Without anyone sustaining it, the black patch shrank rapidly and the water returned to its normal flow.

After a long while, one of the fainted Six-Bearded Catfish came to, swished its tail, and leisurely swam away.

...

"So this is the Heaven-Reaching Platform!"

With the Exquisite Primordial Pagoda, Bai Zichen felt no discomfort. With a single thought, he caught up to Po Jun Star Monarch ahead.

In the void, with no points of reference, it was impossible to judge how far one had traveled.

Fortunately, Po Jun Star Monarch had made thorough preparations. The chosen location wasn’t far from their target, and a majestic, tall platform soon appeared in their line of sight.

It was a nine-hundred-ninety-nine-step Heaven-Ascending Ladder. There were six faces and three ladders in total, and the reliefs on both sides of the ladders were all of Five Virtues Auspicious Beasts.

Many were Auspicious Beasts that Bai Zichen had never seen before and couldn’t even name. They were clearly from the Earth Immortal Realm.

"Fellow Daoist Ziwei, the Tier Five Flying Sword is at the top of the Heaven-Reaching Platform! We must break the Forbidden seals as quickly as possible and retrieve the sword. No one can be sure that turbulence won’t erupt in this surface-level void!"

A strange glint flashed in Po Jun Star Monarch’s eyes, not because Bai Zichen was the fastest to catch up, but because of the Treasure Pagoda suspended high above his head.

The Exquisite Primordial Pagoda constantly radiated a pearlescent light. Occasionally, an unknown dark ray would fly out from the depths of the void, but Bai Zichen didn’t even bother to dodge, letting it strike him.

The Treasure Beads shimmered, shattering a few layers of the pearlescent light, but for this Void Spiritual Treasure, it was merely a drop in the ocean.

Po Jun Star Monarch even felt that Ziwei Star Star Monarch’s Void Spiritual Treasure was of a higher Tier than the Chain of Many Stars he had borrowed from his Sect Leader senior brother.

’But Bai Zichen, the Time God Sword, clearly came from a small Sect in the Northern Domain. Where did he get a Void Spiritual Treasure like this?’