Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension Chapter 1672 - 899: The Prison Guard Chaos

The Great Sun blazed overhead, its light reflecting off ceaseless waves that crashed against the island’s reef, their roars echoing.

Suddenly, a cyan cloud drifted into view from the horizon of the vast blue sky. It ascended rapidly, reaching the sky directly above a deserted island and finally halting above a towering, thousand-zhang stone mountain.

"Descend!" Zhao Xuanjing’s gaze fixed on Zhao Sheng, his voice serious as he commanded, before stepping off the cloud and instantly appearing atop the mountain peak.

Zhao Sheng’s figure flickered, and he too materialized beside Zhao Xuanjing as if from thin air.

Without offering any explanation, Zhao Xuanjing simply gestured. A deep, pitch-black chasm tore open silently in the ground beneath them.

Zhao Sheng’s eyes gleamed as he immediately sensed the incredibly abnormal gravitational pull emanating from the depths.

It felt as if something possessed a life of its own, becoming extraordinarily “lively,” with gravity fluctuating wildly between one and tens of thousands of times its normal force, its shifts alarmingly rapid!

Curiously, this gravitational anomaly was confined to the immediate vicinity of the stone mountain; the rest of the island remained entirely unaffected.

At this juncture, Zhao Sheng began to form conjectures, finally grasping the reason behind Zhao Xuanjing’s decision to bring him to this secluded spot.

"Chonghe, do you comprehend the source of our Zhao Family’s current prosperity?" Zhao Xuanjing inquired with veiled significance, motioning for Zhao Sheng to follow him.

"For the Zhao Family’s present standing, our ancestor’s hard work and unparalleled achievements are the reason!" Zhao Sheng replied, walking alongside him as they slowly descended.

As they penetrated a thousand zhang beneath the surface, the entrance above sealed itself shut, the light faded, and the surroundings plunged into increasing darkness.

"That is not the whole story! You grasp only a fraction, unaware of the complete picture. Our Zhao Family has existed for just over two hundred thousand years. The Taiyi Spirit Realm predates our clan, and forces far mightier than ours are plentiful. Yet, across countless eons, few clans have ascended as rapidly as ours. I recall..." Zhao Xuanjing’s interest seemed to pique, and he leisurely began to recount his family’s ascent to prominence.

Despite his familiarity with the family’s chronicles, Zhao Sheng listened with unwavering patience and a calm demeanor.

Certain events, he acknowledged, were undoubtedly more vivid and impactful when narrated by Zhao Xuanjing himself.

As he listened, Zhao Sheng suddenly recalled that the ancestor being discussed was the Five Thunders Ancestor, Zhao Xi, who lived over two hundred thousand years ago.

According to Xuanjing’s account, this Five Thunders Ancestor had led an extraordinarily tumultuous life, truly deserving the title of an unparalleled genius of his era.

While absorbing the legendary tales of his past life, Zhao Sheng experienced an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

However, he quickly regained his composure, recognizing that Zhao Xuanjing’s actions must carry profound implications.

Pondering swiftly, Zhao Sheng immediately grasped the elder’s true intentions.

As anticipated, Zhao Xuanjing soon divulged a secret hitherto unrecorded in the family’s history.

"...Zhao Xi was a prodigy of immense learning, and in his time, he achieved something unprecedented. Do you know what he accomplished?"

Zhao Xuanjing’s gaze was filled with deep emotion and admiration as he spoke with awe, "You may find this unbelievable! He once extracted three distinct bloodlines from his own body and utilized them as foundational blueprints to forge four entirely new races."

"Four? Did I not learn of only the Fire Qiu, Wind Nest Loach, and Thunderbolt Dog, the three major races? Where does the fourth one fit in?"

Upon hearing this, a flicker of curiosity crossed Zhao Sheng’s eyes as he hastily inquired.

Indeed, a truly capable subordinate must first master the art of feigned ignorance.

Although he possessed complete awareness of the matter, Zhao Sheng deliberately adopted an air of curiosity at this critical moment.

Unaware that the individual before him was none other than the unparalleled talent, Zhao Xi, himself, Zhao Xuanjing continued.

Without a trace of suspicion, Zhao Xuanjing responded with a smile, "Certain secrets are passed down through oral tradition only, never committed to writing. Zhao Xi indeed created four new beings in total; besides the Fire Qiu, Wind Nest Loach, and Thunderbolt Dog, there existed another unique life form known as Chaos."

Before Zhao Sheng could probe further, Zhao Xuanjing’s tone shifted, becoming solemn as he declared, "Chaos is our family’s most guarded secret; aside from myself, March, Hongyun, and… Da Shan, no one else is privy to its existence. However, today, you too shall be enlightened.

Now, allow me to escort you to the Shen Zhou Earth’s Core to witness Chaos’s true form… It resides there!"

With his declaration complete, Zhao Xuanjing suddenly snapped his fingers.

Snap!

Following the crisp sound, myriad fantastical rays of light surged from the depths below, instantly dispelling the oppressive darkness and illuminating the immense expanse of the Earth’s Core space.

Casting his gaze downwards, Zhao Sheng was immediately confronted with a sight that would forever be etched into his memory.

Right in the middle of this boundless space, floated a pitch-black, profound "star-like entity," its diameter merely ten zhang, with countless tentacles of various lengths growing on its surface,

Yet, it was alive, incessantly expanding and contracting like a throbbing giant heart.

Whenever it contracted to its utmost, the "star-like entity" turned into a Black Hole, simultaneously releasing unimaginable gravitational waves.

But as it expanded to its largest extent, all tentacles danced in unison, radiating bright, colorful rays, seemingly welcoming Zhao Sheng’s and Xuanjing’s arrival.

Zhao Xuanjing smiled faintly, suddenly sending Xuanhu Mountain into the air.

Xuanhu Mountain plummeted down rapidly, but it was quickly caught by several tentacles.

At the same moment, countless "bubbles" suddenly emerged from the tips of these tentacles.

The "bubbles" varied in size, their numbers as numerous as the stars.

Inside these "bubbles" were miniature worlds, with mountains, rivers, forests, oceans, and even deserts, wastelands, and icy lands.

Upon closer inspection, there were actually humans within these miniature "worlds."

At first glance, they appeared emaciated and haggard, their faces bleak, yet they all sat in meditation with closed eyes, absorbed in cultivation without regard for themselves.

Xuanhu Mountain was also sucked into one of the "bubbles."

Immediately after, the red-haired, blind Lie Wuque squeezed out from within the mountain, falling into the skies above a vast ocean.

In a blink, Lie Wuque’s figure vanished into thin air.

However, in the next moment, he reappeared in the original spot.

Swish, swish!

At this time, countless tentacles waved in unison, and the ubiquitous gravitational fluctuations suddenly intensified by billions of times, instantly covering the "bubble" where Lie Wuque was located.

In an instant, the billions-fold gravity fell entirely on Lie Wuque alone.

Even as a Tribulation Crossing Venerable, he couldn’t withstand such unimaginably immense pressure.

In less than one breath, Lie Wuque was trembling violently, crashing heavily into the sea.

Then, this "bubble" suddenly detached from the tentacles’ control, slowly falling to the surface of chaos, and finally sinking into the chaos body, disappearing without a trace.

"Is this... Chaos?" Zhao Sheng witnessed the entire process and was extremely shocked in his heart.

His voice seemed to come from deep within his heart, sounding very ethereal.

"Indeed, it is chaos." Zhao Xuanjing nodded, feeling very emotional. "Chaos is a miraculous life form with infinite potential, so powerful it’s beyond imagination. Born only 230,000 years ago, it could lift a vast continent like the Divine Continent, truly an unprecedented feat."

"Did you know? Chaos is still in its juvenile stage, and its power is growing rapidly every day, so fast it’s terrifying."

Zhao Sheng’s gaze swept over the "bubble" worlds, finally unable to resist asking, "Can it... match a True Immortal?"

Zhao Xuanjing shook his head: "I.... don’t know. Perhaps it can, perhaps it can’t!"

As he spoke, Xuanhu Mountain flew up from below, swiftly disappearing into Zhao Xuanjing’s sleeve.

Zhao Sheng’s eyes flickered with doubt and confusion.

Without waiting for him to ask, Zhao Xuanjing explained: "Chaos is innately of a very high position, possibly even higher than an Immortal. Zhao Xi once said that Chaos’s bloodline might originate from some Primordial Clan. But due to the excessively thin concentration of its bloodline, its innate Spirit Core is deficient, remaining ignorant and unable to communicate since birth.

Ten thousand years ago, I cultivated the "True Spirit Mutual Study Contract" to an unprecedented level, only then barely managing to sign a Mutual Study Spirit Contract with Chaos.

I spent tens of thousands of years teaching Chaos how to control its instincts. The Divine Continent is actually a tool for training Chaos. The stronger Chaos becomes, the larger the Divine Continent will grow!"

"Today, the Divine Continent is more than ten thousand times larger than it was at the beginning."

Zhao Xuanjing inadvertently revealed another earth-shattering secret.

"...The world knows that our Zhao Family possesses the most Cave Heaven Blessed Lands in this realm, yet no one knows where these Cave Heaven Blessed Lands come from."

Zhao Sheng came to a sudden realization, suddenly pointing at the intermittently appearing "bubbles," exclaiming in amazement, "Chaos can create so many miniature spaces, truly incredible!"

"Not only that! These Small Spirit Realms are also the best prisons, holding fierce and powerful Evil Demons, and Chaos is the best prison guard in the world.

In all these thousands of years, no one imprisoned here has ever escaped.

What's more significant is that these souls aren't just captives; they are sustenance for the Chaos.

Zhao Sheng had, in truth, already grasped this entire situation even before Zhao Xuanjing needed to elaborate.

The grasping tendrils of Chaos had, for an extended period, breached the very fabric of space-time, probing into the Nine Nether Void Realm.

It was conceivable that the Dark Sky, the Divine Palace Heaven, and even the Near Heaven were not the ultimate boundaries of these probing appendages; some of the more robust tendrils might have already infiltrated the fabled Longevity Heaven.

These malevolent fiends, confined within their ethereal prisons, functioned as instruments for the siphoning of Source Energy and the Dao Spirit Mechanism before their ultimate consumption by Chaos.

Figures such as Lie Wuque, possessing cultivations of immense depth, found themselves ensnared within the very being of Chaos, with no hope of liberation.

Zhao Sheng harbored the grim suspicion that even if an Immortal were to be engulfed by Chaos, their escape from its internal grasp would be equally impossible!