Tian Fan was exhilarated. He had finally sensed that powerful five-element spiritual energy again—purer and stronger than what he had felt when he first arrived in the village.
Buzz…
Golden radiance blazed like the sun, while silver light shimmered like the moon. He simultaneously activated the Divine Celestial Heart Sutra and the Five Elements Method, merging majesty with divinity. A blazing divine glow illuminated the entire village.
“There!”
With both techniques in motion, the sensation grew even more intense. In a single step, he shot forward like a streak of divine light, plunging into the lake.
A faint golden barrier enveloped his body, shielding him from the water’s erosion. Slowly, he descended deeper. Schools of fish darted around him before scattering in panic at his presence.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly. Gradually, a look of astonishment crossed his face. From the moment he had begun, he had already dived at least ten thousand meters—yet the lake appeared bottomless, its depths unfathomable.
“Something’s wrong!”
Suddenly, he realized the anomaly. It wasn’t that the lake was impossibly deep—rather, a strange force had dulled his senses. Golden light flickered in his eyes as Desire Without Trace surged within him. Channeling more divine power, he finally glimpsed a faint, translucent curtain of water below.
“I’ve arrived!”
He couldn’t help but exclaim. The watery veil trembled slightly as he passed through it, rippling like disturbed waves.
“This is…?”
The moment he crossed the barrier, he found himself standing on damp earth—completely dry, untouched by water. Before him stretched a shattered wasteland, eerily similar to the Northern Great Wasteland: the same crimson soil, the same pockmarked terrain. Yet, the aura here was incomparably more sinister.
At least, that was Tian Fan’s impression. A trace of death lingered in the air, mingled with an unusual demonic energy.
His gaze swept the surroundings, landing on a piece of metal—its origins unknown, yet impossibly hard. From it emanated an oppressive battle aura so intense it made his skin ache. Nearby lay a broken divine bow, adorned with archaic engravings even he couldn’t decipher.
Turning, he spotted a shattered suit of armor in the distance. When he tried to lift it, it refused to budge. Shock flashed across his face. His physical strength was already monstrous, rivaling even those at the Immortal Ascension Realm—yet he couldn’t move a single broken piece of armor. If word of this spread across the Divine Martial Continent, jaws would drop.
Examining the fragments scattered across the ground, he noted their decay from age—yet each pulsed with formidable energy.
“What are these things? What happened here?”
Astonishment gripped him. These remnants were anything but ordinary. As he studied them, a terrifying realization struck him: every shard here bore an ancient history and radiated power surpassing even Immortal Ascension treasures.
The blood-red earth stretched endlessly, its vastness immeasurable. Tian Fan walked across the crimson wasteland—barren, lifeless, and steeped in an eternal, chilling aura. A shudder ran down his spine. The sensation was eerily similar to what he had felt in the ancient mountains of the Enchanted Forest. A horrifying thought emerged:
“Could this place have witnessed a terrifying divine battle? Was it drenched in godly blood, saturated with endless killing intent, forever cursed—a land of eternal gloom where no life can ever flourish again?”
Even he found the idea terrifying. Shaking his head, he quickened his pace. Moments later, the scenery transformed drastically.
Before him stretched an endless expanse of lush green plains and towering mountain forests—a stark contrast to the desolation he had just traversed. The air brimmed with vibrant life force, as if he had stepped into a divine realm.
Advancing further, the vitality grew even richer, surpassing even the aura of the sacred fruit he had encountered earlier. Above him, cranes circled, their melodious cries akin to celestial music. Tian Fan was awestruck—this was like another world entirely.
Unconsciously, he ventured deeper. Blue mist curled around him, veiling the surroundings in a dreamlike haze. Spirit fruits and immortal herbs grew sporadically, their intoxicating spiritual energy threatening to ensnare him. For a moment, he even felt reluctant to leave.
Frowning, Tian Fan acknowledged the profound mystery of this place. Along his journey, he had encountered countless bizarre and inexplicable sights—some so eerie they sent chills down his spine. Hidden dangers lurked everywhere, and he knew the path ahead would only grow more perilous.
Yet, the scene before him defied all expectations.
A thousand rays of radiant light, ten thousand strands of auspicious energy—spiritual mist swirled around him, shimmering like shooting stars trailing luminous tails across the night sky.
“What in the world is going on?”
The sheer disparity left him speechless. A lifeless wasteland had abruptly transformed into a paradise of overwhelming vitality. It defied logic, contradicting everything he understood about the world.
Swish—
Suddenly, his hair stood on end. Instinctively, he activated Divine Cloud Steps, vanishing from his spot in an instant.
Hiss…
Tendrils of green smoke erupted where he had stood moments before, melting the blue-spirited earth beneath.
Buzz—
Desire Without Trace surged violently. A sense of imminent danger gripped him. The golden sun between his brows spun wildly, unleashing dazzling divine light. His eyes burned gold-red, as if forged from molten metal.
Twin beams of light shot forth, tearing apart an eerie barrier.
The divine radiance vanished. The vibrant spirit fruits disappeared. The cranes in the sky were gone. Everything had dissolved into nothingness.
Ahead lay only the demonic crimson earth, shrouded in swirling demonic mist. He now stood in a desolate canyon, its grayish-brown cliffs barren and lifeless. Streaks of dried blood stained the rock faces, some areas pitch-black like bottomless voids, devouring all light.
No radiant glow, no sunlight, no trace of greenery—only endless shadows.
“Heh heh… So you noticed.”
A chilling voice echoed from behind.
Tian Fan whirled around, his pupils dilating as he faced the source…