Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1445 - 783: Beastification

"With the portal nowhere in sight, Taoist Qi, why not lead us? Which direction do we head?" Kuimu Xiao cast a soft glance at Qi Wu Yan and suggested mildly.

Qi Wu Yan lifted his gaze to the heavens, face etched with gravity, and declared gravely, "We ought to scout the vicinity first; the portal could be tucked away in some concealed nook."

Zhao Sheng gave a nod, "Solid idea. But earlier, I spotted signs of another visitor to the Immortal Ruins. Maybe we nab that fellow first; he could hold some clues."

Hearing those words, Qi Wu Yan's face lit up, and he agreed at once. Kuimu Xiao nodded in support too.

"That individual's more than eight hundred miles off; come with me."

With those words, Zhao Sheng soared skyward and sped off toward the northeast.

Qi Wu Yan and Kuimu Xiao hastened after him, taking to the air in pursuit.

Hundreds of miles of rugged terrain and waterways flashed by underneath, unveiling a barren gorge.

Yao Lan clutched his Treasure Saber firmly, eyes scanning the area warily.

All at once, a silhouette dropped from above, radiating immense pressure, and touched down directly in front of him.

Yao Lan froze in terror, ready to swing his saber, yet a crushing force slammed down abruptly, making his body quake and locking his arms and legs in place.

Swoosh swoosh.

Two additional silhouettes landed nearby.

Zhao Sheng eyed Yao Lan from head to toe briefly, then effortlessly seized the Dragon-shaped Treasure Saber and tapped the edge with a finger.

A mighty dragon's cry rang out from the blade, as though a shadowy dragon coiled along its length, twisting wildly.

"Fine weapon; its quality rivals a Spiritual Treasure at least." Zhao Sheng commended, before slipping the Treasure Saber into his sleeve without a second thought.

Qi Wu Yan stepped closer, fixing a chilly stare on the frightened Yao Lan, and demanded, "Respond to my queries. What's your name? From which realm do you hail?"

Scared that a single misstep could end him, Yao Lan held back nothing and spilled his identity and background fully.

Noting Yao Lan's full compliance, Qi Wu Yan's features softened a bit, and he pressed on with his questions.

Yao Lan held nothing back in his responses, sharing not just his adventures since stepping into the Sky-reaching White Tower but also every detail he knew about the White Tower.

In truth, Yao Lan hailed from a prestigious line; he belonged to the Direct Lineage of an Immortal Gate within the Yuqing Spirit Realm, and his clan boasted multiple Ancestors who had passed through the Sky-reaching White Tower, jotting down a handful of notes.

"...From what the seventh-generation Ancestor recorded, this realm we're in now is the Beast Path among the Six Paths of Hell. The Beast Path forms its own isolated domain, governed by laws far removed from the outer realms. Days pass in calm; but nights unleash horrifying dangers... As for the nature of these horrors? I'm clueless too, since the Ancestor's notes go blank in spots, as if some prohibition barred even a single description."

At these words, Qi Wu Yan and Zhao Sheng shared a knowing look.

It lined up perfectly!

Qi Wu Yan's own Ancestor had scrawled empty sections in the old tomes.

Clearly, this wasn't mere chance; likely some grave restriction or a censoring force had wiped the writings clean.

Qi Wu Yan mulled it over briefly before resuming his probing.

Over an hour passed, until Yao Lan had bared every last bit, when Qi Wu Yan released him and turned to Zhao Sheng with a sharp query, "He's served his purpose. End him or spare?"

Right then, Zhao Sheng stared at the blazing sun overhead, deep in contemplation.

Hearing the question snapped him back, and he shook his head, "Hold off on killing for the moment; he might prove handy down the line."

Then Zhao Sheng turned to Kuimu Xiao and directed, "Taoist Kuimu, watch over this guy. I'll scout the area."

Kuimu Xiao agreed with a nod.

Having spoken, Zhao Sheng gave a slight dip of his head and vanished from view in an instant.

...

After dozens upon dozens of Space-Time Teleportations, Zhao Sheng hovered hundreds of miles aloft, clouds drifting underfoot while biting Gang Winds howled around.

Zhao Sheng peered up at the sun blazing in the firmament, his eyes narrowing sharply.

Even from such heights, the sun's apparent size and reach matched what he'd see from the surface.

Zhao Sheng's brow furrowed tight, and he triggered another Space-Time Teleportation, climbing higher still.

This round, he pushed through almost a hundred jumps until his Will ebbed by half, materializing anew.

Now, icy void gripped the air in utter quiet, the land sprawling boundless below without the slightest bend.

What did that imply?

A few explanations arose: first, this realm followed "Heavenly Round and Earthly Square," no typical vast cosmos.

Second, the world's scale dwarfed all expectations.

Third, this place might not be solid reality but a genuine "Thought Realm."

Remember, the Burial Immortal Ruins once stood as an Immortal Heaven, felled by untold True Immortals and greater beings, so oddities abounded here.

No mere Thought Realm would shock; even stumbling on a Taoist Ancestor's corpse one day wouldn't faze.

Gazing skyward once more, the sun's scale and span stayed the same.

Faced with that, Zhao Sheng abandoned testing the sky's bounds, his form dropping like a massive boulder straight toward the ground below.

When Zhao Sheng rejoined Qi Wu Yan, nearly four hours had ticked by.

Oddly though, the sun hung steadfast in its spot, unmoved.

This only fueled Zhao Sheng's doubts about the domain.

Spotting his return, Qi Wu Yan eagerly pressed for any fresh findings.

Zhao Sheng merely shook his head, holding his theories close.