Chapter 26: First Entry into the Alien Universe

Before the imperial palace, the gray sculpture in human form made a slight adjustment to the spacetime teleportation array, then activated it.

Ji Ning, Feng Yi, Huo Jin, Qing Huan, and Tianhuo Mangya felt the shift in spacetime around them, and soon everything came to a halt.

“Hmm?” Ji Ning and the others looked around.

This was a mountain floating in the void. Halfway up the mountain stood an old man with a white beard and six curved horns, draped in a snow-white robe. The aura he emitted made Ji Ning and the others, who had seen the Great Dominator’s true form, recognize him immediately. They all bowed respectfully: “Dominator.”

“This is the cosmic passage,” said the white-bearded old man, pointing to a spot on the mountainside. At first glance it seemed ordinary, but on closer inspection, one could see faint rings of spacetime vortices and the terrifying power within them. If the cosmic passage collapsed while they were inside, Ji Ning and the others would likely lose their lives.

“Once you enter the alien universe, things like ‘Heart Lamps’ and ‘True Spirit Towers’ won’t be able to sense whether you’re alive or dead, let alone life slips or talismans,” the white-bearded old man said. “After all, you’ll be in a different universe. Of course, if you have a clone technique and leave a clone behind, you can cultivate it back if your other clone dies, and that way you can determine life or death.”

“Mm,” Ji Ning and the others nodded.

Heart Lamps and True Spirit Towers directly sense the true spirit; even in mysterious places, they can still detect it. But in the alien universe, these items would be useless.

Life slips and talismans are the most common and simplest methods, but many mysterious or special places can block them. Even sheer distance can render them ineffective.

“In the alien universe, no one can help you.”

“You must rely only on yourselves,” said the white-bearded old man. “Go in now. Once inside, remember to follow the cosmic passage straight ahead.”

“Yes.”

Ji Ning and the other five all replied.

Then, one after another, they walked toward the seemingly ordinary faint rings of spacetime vortices. The five of them walked together and soon sank into the spacetime vortices as if sinking into water.

…

At first, entering the cosmic passage was calm.

But soon, Ji Ning and the others felt the distortion of time, space, and many rules… It was extremely uncomfortable, and even their true spirits felt a stifling pressure.

“Hurry,” Prince Qing Huan said in a low voice.

“Let’s move forward,” Ji Ning also said.

Enduring the discomfort, they all flew swiftly ahead. Before them, rings of spacetime vortices formed a dark passage that seemed endless, everywhere influenced by the rules of two universes. Fortunately, Ji Ning and the others were below the Daolord level, so the disturbances they caused were not too great. If a true Daolord dared to trespass, they would likely be torn apart by the rules of the two universes.

“Whoosh.” Ji Ning and the other five flew at high speed.

“Why is it so long?”

“How long is this cosmic passage? When will we reach the end?”

Ji Ning and the others had been flying for over an hour, yet they were still in this dark passage. Though they all felt uncomfortable, it wasn’t life-threatening, and they could endure it.

“The Dominator said,” Feng Yi transmitted, “that we should follow the cosmic passage straight ahead. Let’s just keep flying; we’ll reach the end eventually.”

“Mm,” Huo Jin nodded.

“The passage between two universes—today I’ve finally seen it,” Prince Qing Huan laughed.

The five chatted as they flew, but soon they ran out of topics and flew in silence.

One day, two days, three days…

Ji Ning had never imagined they would have to fly for so long in the cosmic passage. If it were ordinary flying, it would be fine, but under the influence of two universes’ rules, every second felt like a year. The Great Dominator hadn’t mentioned this beforehand, perhaps intending to temper their minds.

In the blink of an eye, they had been flying for over three years.

“What’s that?”

“Is it the end?”

“It seems like the end.”

Ji Ning and the others, who had been flying quietly, suddenly showed joy as they looked ahead. At the far end of the dark cosmic passage, there was a faint light, and the dark passage did not extend beyond that light, as if it had reached its end.

“Fly.”

Ji Ning and the others had no choice; they all flew toward the light.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.” The five flew out one after another.

…

“Where is this?”

Ji Ning and the others appeared in a chaotic void, with chaos drifting around them. Ahead, faintly visible, was a huge chaotic star like a massive fireball. Because it was relatively close, the surroundings were bright.

Ji Ning and the other five turned to look behind them. There was a huge spatial vortex.

“Seeing this spatial vortex, I doubt many would dare to barge in,” Feng Yi said with a smile.

Ji Ning nodded.

When he had traveled from the Three Realms to the Da Mo Domain, he had used a spatial vortex passage. Such spatial vortices were not uncommon in the vast endless territories. But because spatial vortices usually formed naturally and might contain great dangers, cultivators generally did not dare to barge in even if they saw one.

The reason Source Elder and the Great Demon Ashu had barged in back then was that they were being pursued and had nowhere to flee, so they had to go wherever danger lurked.

“Even if someone barges in and survives by luck, the other end is the Dominator,” Prince Qing Huan transmitted with a laugh.

“Have you all sensed it?” Tianhuo Mangya closed his eyes and focused. “The various sources here are indeed different from ours.”

Ji Ning also sensed clearly.

Here, just like in the endless territories, there were sources of the sword, fire, water, lightning, space, and many others. These sources were like pillars propping up the universe. The outermost layers, which cultivators could sense in detail, were identical to those in the endless territories!

So cultivation should be similar!

But the inner aspects were different.

“In the endless territories, the source of the sword is vaster, as if it can encompass everything. In the alien universe, the source of the sword seems more introverted and more ferocious,” Ji Ning thought to himself.

After they all curiously sensed the sources of the alien universe for a while,

“According to the star chart, our current position is still far from the Ancient Domain. Everyone, let’s set off,” Huo Jin suggested.

“Mm, let’s go.”

“The journey is still long. Our main task now is to reach the Ancient Domain safely.”

“Let’s move.”

Although the five were confident in themselves and believed they had a good chance of reaching the Ancient Domain, they did not dare to be careless. The distance was too great. The Ancient Domain was the core origin of the entire alien universe, occupying an immensely vast area. Its exact size was still undetermined.

According to the star chart route, it would take Ji Ning and the others over fifteen hundred years to travel from the cosmic passage to the Ancient Domain, passing through more than three thousand territories. Such a long journey was generally not undertaken by World-level cultivators, as there were too many dangers, and they might lose their lives at any time.

…

After spending over two months, they reached the nearest spacetime teleportation array. The array here was the same as in the endless territories, indicating that the cultivation systems of the two universes were not very different.

Using spacetime teleportation arrays or flying through space, after more than a hundred years, Ji Ning and the others arrived at a chaotic star. On this star was the core of a spacetime teleportation array, which they needed to pass through.

In a canyon on this star, there were many caves where World-level cultivators lived.

“Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.”

A figure sat cross-legged by the edge of a lake. Flames swirled around his body, yet they did not harm the surrounding soil or grass.

Swoosh.

A streak of light landed in the distance. It was a green-haired World God with a burly aura, carrying a huge axe on his back.

“Five World-level cultivators have arrived,” the green-haired World God said in a low voice.

“Oh? Five dare to come to our place? Could they be of extraordinary origin?” the flame-wreathed figure spoke.

“They should be outsiders; I’ve never seen them before,” the green-haired World God said.

“Never seen them. Mm, we should know all the World-level cultivators from the surrounding dozen territories. Since we don’t know them, they must have come from quite far away,” the flame-wreathed figure said in a hoarse laugh. “Notify the other leaders. We’re going to kill those five outsider World-level cultivators. Since I discovered them, I want one.”

“Yes,” the green-haired World God replied respectfully.

“I’ve killed over three hundred World-level cultivators so far, but that’s still too few. I’m still far from a thousand,” the flame-wreathed figure muttered to himself.

…