Eternal Holy Emperor
Chapter 176 - 161: Tracing Back to the Ancient Dao

Chapter 176: Chapter 161: Tracing Back to the Ancient Dao

The woman’s sense of smell was terrifyingly acute. She could even scent that out.

Ye Chen was somewhat dumbstruck and then, looking at the girl’s somewhat despondent eyes which were sympathetically inviting, he sighed lightly, "Vivian, you misunderstood. She’s not the person I like."

"Really?" The girl’s eyes lit up with astonishing brilliance.

Ye Chen could only nod.

Half a day later, Ye Chen set out. He wanted to venture into that part of the world where the contenders for rule—the Super Experts—had vanished, to see just what those people were trapped there doing.

Ao howl—

After bidding farewell to his friends, the Demon Flood Dragon let out a long, resounding roar, carrying Ye Chen towards the Mysterious Heaven and Earth.

There are a total of fifteen passes on the Trial Road, each pass is quite expansive, not much smaller than any Kingdom, and in some cases, even larger.

However, riding on the Demon Flood Dragon, Ye Chen spent only an hour before he arrived in the region where the Mysterious Heaven and Earth was located. Despite sensing many dangers along the way, including perilous areas and terrible lurking Demon Beasts, the path was fraught with danger.

The further one progressed on the Trial Road, the more dangerous it became. Even among the top 100 Trial Participants, no one could confidently say they would definitely make it through, as there were some truly terrifying Innate Demonic Beasts. There were also quite a few Trialists who were eliminated along the way or, even more unfortunately, fell into danger and not even the light of their Spirit Talismans could save their lives, disappearing forever in this world.

But all these so-called trial dangers were directly overlooked by Ye Chen.

For him, the Trial Road didn’t serve any purpose of trial at all, since his strength far exceeded the scope of these challenges.

Along the way, no one dared to trouble Ye Chen. Even if they didn’t know what Ye Chen looked like, just one look at the giant Demon Flood Dragon was enough to understand that this was the Crownless King Ye Chen, who had recently made his name on the Trial Road.

The location of the Mysterious Heaven and Earth was in a desolate Great Desert, thousands of miles away from the Twelfth Town.

Endless desert stretches, red sand for miles, vitality sparse, perpetually shrouded in blazing high temperatures. Even Innate Cultivators could be baked dry and turned into mummies in less than half a month here, showcasing the extreme heat of the desert that’s beyond what ordinary people can step into.

However, the desert doesn’t really represent the barbaric Nihility. It’s also filled with abundant resources. There are some special Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that can only be born in such fiery deserts, as well as particular minerals like Red Sand Iron.

Even some special creatures rely on the desert for survival, with the famous Red Sand Scorpion being one of them.

The Red Sand Scorpions usually inhabit the desert and, although they are generally ordinary and Acquired class small Demon Beasts, they typically gather in thousands or even millions. Even Martial Gods would frown upon encountering them.

In the heart of the thousand-mile Red Sand Desert, towering sand dunes spread out in clusters, the climate is dry, but at the central location, there is a space that constantly distorts, extraordinarily dissimilar from the surrounding area—this is the entrance to the Mysterious Heaven and Earth.

To enter the Mysterious Heaven and Earth, one must pass through this portal; there is no other way.

Dozens of miles away from the entrance of the Mysterious Heaven and Earth, there is an oasis, one of the rare and closest oasis to the entrance of the Mysterious Heaven and Earth. Vegetation thrives lush and verdant, with a pool of luxuriant, azure water, distinct and seeming like a paradise on Earth.

This place is where the majority of Trialists gathered, with numerous tall tents erected on the ground, silhouettes bustling. Many Trialists flocked here from all areas due to rumors of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, Spirit Stones, Spiritual Pearls, and even the inheritance of Divine beings appearing in the Mysterious Heaven and Earth, congregating in this place.

Here, it was rare to forbid conflict and the stealing of Identity Tokens; everything was focused on advancing into the Mysterious Heaven and Earth. Otherwise, going against this rule would lead to collective retaliation, even if the offender were a prince or princess of Super forces.

Most people were immensely curious about the Mysterious Heaven and Earth, filled with a variety of desires. Were the stories true, that inside were full of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, with Spirit Stones everywhere, formidable Divine Beasts lurking, and inheritances of Supreme Divine Dao?

Everything was so enticing and awe-inspiring.

What piqued interest further was that several Super Experts contending for kingship had entered and an entire month had passed without any sighting of them, leading many to wonder. Some even speculated that these Super Experts might have encountered misfortune.

Several Gate Masters and even a Supreme Elder had come from far away to probe, and although they hadn’t entered, they had stated that only the younger generation of Trialists could go into this Mysterious Heaven and Earth.

Regarding the current state of those Super Experts contending for kingship, this was the concern that everyone shared. However, several high officials from the Academies claimed that they were still alive but trapped inside, unlikely to encounter any real danger.

By now, there were easily a hundred people stationed here, with countless tents set up as many Trialists gathered, with quite a few setting their minds on assembling large groups to enter this Mysterious Heaven and Earth.

Naturally, they didn’t dare enter alone, because of the unknown dangers within. There have been many Trialists who ventured in alone, and although the distorted space concealed everything from view, the shrill wails that echoed out were chilling to the bone, confirming that there must be terrifying dangers inside.

"When exactly will we assault the Mysterious Heaven and Earth?"

Numerous trialists were all waiting for the moment, waiting for more trialists to join, and now more than three hundred trialists were stationed here, yet they hadn’t made any moves.

"Let’s wait a bit longer, some of the top 100 trial participants will come as well, and even princes and princesses from the Jiuhua Empire and the Soaring Dragon Empire will appear," someone said. "They will bring with them Heavy Weapons and raise our hopes even higher."

"With those top trialists taking the lead, safety will undoubtedly be increased."

"It’s rumored that Lord Chen, the ’Crownless King,’ the Young Martial God, is interested in entering the Mysterious Heaven and Earth, isn’t it?"

"Lord Chen seems to have a not-so-shallow relationship with Xia Yang; he should come."

Upon hearing of Lord Chen’s arrival, many were filled with anticipation. The Crownless King, a Young Martial God stronger than all on the Trial Road, stood like an unshakeable Divine Mountain, instilling a sense of security in all trialists.

However, after the news spread for several days, Lord Chen’s appearance still wasn’t seen, which left many trialists both puzzled and somewhat disappointed. Could it be that Lord Chen had decided not to come?

In the oasis, a figure shrouded in a wide black robe, hiding their entire silhouette, climbed to the top of a hill. Beneath the black robe, a pair of deep, distant eyes gazed at the space portal of the Mysterious Heaven and Earth miles away.

When a gentle breeze brushed by, the robe parted slightly to reveal a handsome face – it was none other than the highly anticipated Ye Chen.

He had arrived long ago, but he hadn’t made a grand entrance and instead kept himself hidden. Due to the sandstorm, most trialists were heavily covered, so no one suspected it was Ye Chen.

"This Great Desert is extraordinary, not naturally formed," Ye Chen murmured to himself. His senses were sharp, and he faintly perceived something exceptional about the desert – it seemed to be permeated with a trace of the Dao.

Although it was weak, he caught it.

Dao, only accessible to Martial God Realm cultivators who could truly touch the Heavenly Earth Dao. Beyond this realm, cultivation was no longer about Inner Strength or True Yuan, but about connecting with the Heavenly Earth Dao, becoming true cultivators.

The concept of Dao was vague because there were so many Daos between heaven and earth. The known elements of Gold Wood Water Fire Earth were just one manifestation of the Dao, and so were the Sword Dao, Spear Dao, Martial Arts Dao, Blade Dao, and others – merely a fraction of the infinite Daos.

Once one cultivated the Dao, its might was unbelievably powerful, and the depth of a cultivator’s insight into the Dao determined its power.

The Dao cultivated by the Martial God Realm was just the initial, most basic Dao – merely scratching the surface. As one’s realm deepened, so too would their understanding of the Dao.

A Martial God could easily destroy mountains, not a difficult task.

A Heavenly God, at full strength, could destroy tens to hundreds of miles of rivers and mountains.

For Divine beings, raising a hand could obliterate hundreds of miles of rivers and mountains – what was full-strength might to a Heavenly God was mere effortlessness for a Divine.

This was the profound performance of the Dao – the deeper the Dao, the more terrifying its power.

Coming from the Heavenly and Myriads of Realms, Ye Chen had witnessed some legendary beings’ boundless might, shaking the vast heaven and earth, obliterating worlds, trembling territories spanning tens to hundreds of millions of miles, and shattering gigantic stars.

That level of might showcased the pinnacle of the Dao – matchless.

And within this Red Sand Desert lingered a faint trace of the Dao, faint because it had existed for far too long and was eroded by time, leaving behind only a sliver. Yet, even that was astonishing.

It was this residual Dao that made the desert still so desolate and scorching, a dust storm spanning a thousand miles, unbearable even for Innate Cultivators, cooling down only in oases or at night.

One could surmise the might of the person who wielded this Dao in the past – undoubtedly a legendary figure, at least a Supreme Divine.

The Twelfth Pass Master once mentioned that the Trial World was merely a fragment of what was once a splendid civilization, even rivaling the Tiandu Continent, all of which underscored this point.

The decline of this civilization was indeed a question worth pondering.

Ye Chen didn’t dwell too much on this; the Supreme Old Mansion Master, Martial God Palace Master, Hongtian Great Saint, and the Divine Ancestors of the Super Empires likely researched it more and knew better than him. He focused more on silently sensing the residual Dao in the desert.

Though his cultivation was weak in this life, his understanding of Dao was unmatched even across the entire Tiandu Continent. His Divine Sense wasn’t strong enough to perceive the Dao clearly, but it allowed him to research, analyze, and even trace back to understand how that being had created thousands of miles of barren Red Sand Desert.

Elder Yan seemed to be aware of Ye Chen’s condition and didn’t interrupt, yet he too was consciously sensing this trace of the Dao.

Half a day later, Ye Chen suddenly opened his eyes, realizing an astonishing truth.

The being who had left this Dao behind had not yet perished!

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.