Was it truly “immortal blood”? Both Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue couldn’t help but entertain the thought.
The vivid, dripping-red blood shimmered brilliantly, branded onto the bronze wall directly ahead, forming a massive character — “Immortal” — standing nearly nine meters tall, radiating magnificent light in all directions, as if brilliant crimson clouds had condensed into form.
“Are the secrets of attaining immortality all contained here?” Ji Ziyue’s eyes sparkled with life as she tilted her head to observe, the corners of her lips curved upward.
The radiant blood character stirred an unusual feeling within Ye Fan. He stilled his heart and focused his mind, carefully savoring the sensation, hoping to discover something.
Within the great hall, chaos surged and the twin forces of Yin and Yang circulated. That brilliantly glowing “Immortal” character carried an inexplicable charm that was difficult to put into words.
Without either of them realizing it, both had fallen into a slight trance, as though they had touched upon some unfathomable artistic conception.
Ahead of them, everything gradually grew hazy — dreamlike and illusory, giving them a sense of unreality. Heaven and earth fell into desolation, then flourished again, cycling through transformation and creation, through birth and destruction.
The Great Dao was vast and empty, ethereal yet unpredictable — never extinguished, never ceasing.
All manner of inexplicable visions appeared before them, filling them simultaneously with intoxication and bewilderment, drawing them into a dazed state. Both reached out their hands, as if trying to grasp something ahead — to seize that elusive, nameless thread of truth.
“That which has a name is the mother of all things. Heaven and earth have form and place; Yin and Yang have hardness and softness. Together they nourish all creation and give birth to all living beings.”
“That which has no name is the beginning of heaven and earth. Formless and shapeless, it emerges from the void — continuous and unbroken, like a gossamer thread, leaving no trace, never withering. It is the primordial origin of heaven and earth, the very root of the Dao.”
In the trance, it was as if a voice echoed through the great hall, enticing them forward, urging them to explore the roots of heaven and earth, to open the Gate of All Wonders.
This was an overwhelming temptation. It was as though the hope of attaining immortality lay right before their eyes. The resonant sounds of the Great Dao continued to reverberate — like the deep tolling of ancient bronze bells — bringing profound enlightenment.
Though Ji Ziyue’s spiritual power was sealed, her physical body had at this moment regained its freedom. Her face wore an expression of serene bliss; entranced and enraptured, she was walking forward, one step at a time.
And Ye Fan was the same. It was as if a brilliant lamp had been lit between heaven and earth, suspended high above, radiating infinite divine grace, guiding him onward. Those celestial sounds of ineffable truth, those boundless gates of the Dharma, materialized before his eyes, and a great radiant path unfolded beneath his feet.
It was a temptation impossible to resist. Without conscious thought, their feet began to move. Devout beyond measure, as if summoned, as if guided, both walked slowly forward.
In that moment, in their eyes, sacred springs gushed from the earth, golden lotuses descended from the heavens, phoenixes danced through the air, thousands of auspicious rays streamed in all directions, ten thousand divine rainbows stretched across the sky, five colors spread and swirled, seven hues shone brilliantly — countless auspicious radiances flowed and transformed without ceasing.
Suddenly, Ye Fan’s golden Bitter Sea surged with towering waves, lightning and thunder intertwined, and his physical body blazed like molten gold — brilliant and fierce. In that instant, all the auspicious visions blurred away. A thick haze enveloped everything around him. He felt as though he stood at the edge of a great abyss, as if falling into hell — his entire body turned to ice, and cold sweat poured from him in streams.
He could no longer see the surroundings clearly. Endless mist closed in around him, bringing with it a bone-chilling killing intent that spread across the sky, completely engulfing him.
He shuddered, and in a vague and hazy way, he felt that he stood but a single step from death. What had seemed like the resonant sounds of the Great Dao now felt utterly illusory — ethereal, drifting, no longer real.
At the same time, Ji Ziyue’s graceful form also bloomed with radiant light. Across the surface of her body, which was as pure and white as jade, flickers of luminescence shone. She trembled as if struck by lightning, halting her steps, looking utterly bewildered.
“Dong!”
From within the spring at the bottom of Ye Fan’s Sea, the green bronze fragment trembled gently. In an instant, his mind cleared completely, and he awakened. The mist gradually dispersed, and he realized he had already arrived before that bronze wall — only a few steps away from the “Immortal” character branded in blood, on the verge of touching it.
And Ji Ziyue had gone even further. Her jade hand was already extended — barely an arm’s length away — about to make contact with that blood-soaked character.
He grabbed the violet-robed girl and pulled her back, then retreated rapidly. Only when they had withdrawn far enough did the scene before their eyes finally become fully clear — no longer hazy, no longer muddled.
Looking ahead once more, the towering nine-meter “Immortal” character now looked terrifying as a netherworld of hell — drenched in blood, emanating an endless killing intent.
All the wondrous visions, the limitless resonances of the Great Dao — all had vanished without a trace. Gone was the profound and mysterious Dao resonance. What remained was only terror and dread.
“This is…”
Both of them felt chills run through their entire bodies, cold sweat flowing freely. If they had taken even a few more steps forward just now, blood would likely have been spilled on the spot — neither of them would have survived.
“I clearly heard the celestial sounds of the Great Dao. How did they disappear in the blink of an eye? Now there’s no longer any trace of immortal grandeur…” Ji Ziyue was utterly confused.
Ye Fan felt a chill seize his heart. He had been on the verge of exploring those infinite wonders of truth, yet what he had nearly found at the end was the edge of an abyss — guided toward the brink of death. A cold dread crept up his spine.
At the final moment, had it not been for the golden waves of the Bitter Sea surging skyward and the green bronze fragment trembling, he feared he would already be lying in a pool of blood, gone from this world. At the same time, he felt some surprise at Ji Ziyue: her constitution was also extraordinary — at the final moment, she too had stopped herself. Though he had pulled her back, it was enough to show that this young woman was far from ordinary.
Looking at the several sets of white bones scattered throughout the great hall, Ye Fan’s body went cold. To seek the secret of immortality, yet to end up as bleached bones sleeping eternally in this place — this was the bloody and brutal truth of the matter.
Everything illusory and ethereal had vanished. The mist had cleared. What remained was only killing intent, sending cold sweat running down both their bodies.
“What does this signify? Could it be that the end of cultivation is an abyss — a hell — and immortality cannot be achieved?”
“In the ancient history of the Eastern Desolation, countless peerless powerhouses have desperately chased after traces of immortality. Could it all be nothing but a dead end? At the very end of the road, nothing but a bottomless chasm awaits…”
If this were truly the outcome, it would fill one’s heart with despair — severing the hope of all cultivators, cutting off the very foundation of cultivation.
“At the end of the path of cultivation, are there immortals or not?” Ji Ziyue harbored doubts. Those few figures from the ancient history of the Eastern Desolation who were said to have attained immortality — had they truly crossed that step?
“Could it be that there are no immortals in this world at all?”
“Is this a road that simply… stops?”
In that moment, she recalled the words of a nameless cultivator.
“I dare ask the heavens: are there immortals?”
Ji Ziyue felt a deep resonance with those words, her heart stirring with emotion.
Ye Fan also pondered the question. He had witnessed the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin — yet even someone as powerful as the figure within the Ancient Bronze Coffin had died, and the nine dragons too had lost all life. He had entered the Great Thunder Sound Temple, yet that legendary ancient temple had long fallen into ruin, and whatever Buddha had once dwelled there was nowhere to be found. Was a Buddha merely a state of being, rather than a truly immortal existence?
This left him deeply uncertain. Whether immortals truly existed in this world — he could not say.
“Regardless of what is said, there are those who can traverse the vast stellar domains. To be able to do that much is already enough — to open a path leading to the other shore of the starry sky…”
What was an immortal? No one could clearly say. Whether they truly existed had never been proven. There were only endless legends.
“In the ancient texts of the Eastern Desolation, there are a few accounts of mortals attaining immortality, but they are ambiguous and unclear. This…” Ji Ziyue fell into confusion.
“Why think so much? Wait until you’ve reached that kind of cultivation realm, and worry about it then.” Ye Fan flicked her on the head, snapping her back to her senses.
“You flicked me again…” Ji Ziyue pressed a hand to her smooth forehead, tears welling up from the pain. “You’re challenging the dignity of a future immortal!”
“You said so yourself — there probably aren’t any immortals in this world.”
“If I become an immortal, won’t that mean there is one?” Ji Ziyue ground her sparkling little canine teeth together with a grating sound. “Dare flick me again, and I won’t let you off in the future!”
Ye Fan smiled and pinched her pert, delicate nose. “Such a narcissist…”
“This is called confidence!” Ji Ziyue stepped back, gritting her teeth. “You had best not provoke a future immortal.”
The bone-chilling killing intent continued to permeate the air. Even having retreated to a considerable distance, both could still sense the terrifying nature of the blood character.
“Profound and mysterious, receiving varying measures of vital energy, the sages and worthies are born from it…”
Ethereal, intangible fluctuations sounded again, emanating from that blood-soaked “Immortal” character, enticing them to advance, urging them to glimpse the true realm of wondrous truth.
It was not a sound, nor was it a transmission of spiritual consciousness — it was entirely a nameless aura flowing through the air, leading them to mistakenly believe they had received the divine resonance of the Great Dao’s wondrous truth.
Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue looked at each other, feeling an ever deeper sense of dread. The fluctuations — like sound yet like spiritual resonance — did indeed carry ineffable principles of cultivation. Yet neither dared advance.
The path ahead was an abyss of ten thousand fathoms. The scenery along the way might be beautiful, but one step further could mean eternal damnation.
“Cast out emotion and rid yourself of desire, guard the center and the harmony; within the profound lies what is more profound, within the Dao lies the immortal. The Gate of All Wonders — open swiftly…”
Even more abstruse and mysterious fluctuations came forth. The blood-soaked “Immortal” character ahead actually began to tremble — then split in two, opening a mysterious gateway. Four ancient characters manifested:
Gate of All Wonders!
“It’s not a dead end — immortality is still within reach! The broken bridge is renewed! There must be the secret to immortality inside!” Ji Ziyue bit her red lips, her pearly teeth gleaming with a crystalline luster. Her large eyes curved into crescent moons, and a small dimple appeared on her left cheek — lively and vivid, her expression brimming with joy.
However, she did not take a single step. Instead, she slanted her gaze toward Ye Fan. “I’ll give you the opportunity to attain immortality. Go ahead — take the bold step forward.”
Ahead — was it an abyss, or an opportunity?
Ye Fan felt a chill run through his entire body. He did not advance. Instead, he retreated a few more steps. “Future immortal — the opportunity is yours.”
Ji Ziyue, however, did not dare go forward either, and also retreated a few steps. The two were of one mind — both wary and apprehensive, both feeling that the path ahead was very likely an endless abyss.
Yet if they didn’t advance, how were they to escape? There was no retreat behind them.
Suddenly, Ye Fan’s heart gave a jolt. He sensed a peculiar aura — faintly like the briny smell of lake water.
The blood-soaked “Immortal” character had split in two, forming the Gate of All Wonders. Not far beside it, chaos churned and tumbled, Yin and Yang flowing and circulating — yet deeply unbalanced, constantly collapsing and sinking.