Chapter 24: Thirty-Five Corpses

"No hope, too far behind." Tianhuo Mangya stepped down from the source chain, shaking his head helplessly.

"Don't lose heart. Aren't we here with you?" Prince Qinghuan laughed.

"That Feng Yi is a heartforce cultivator," Huo Jin consoled via telepathy. "Beiming just joined the Twelve Palaces and ranked second in the selection. His progress is incredibly fast. It's expected that they both reached the inner domain."

Tianhuo nodded.

Prince Qinghuan also nodded slightly. Though extremely proud, he admitted Ji Ning's rapid progress.

"One step slow, every step slow," Huo Jin frowned.

"Haha, we shouldn't be discouraged," Prince Qinghuan said boldly. "Opportunities are just aids... cultivators ultimately rely on themselves! We're in the outer domain, they're in the inner domain—we might not progress slower than them."

"True, maybe we'll progress even faster in the outer domain than they do in the inner domain," Huo Jin agreed.

In truth, they were encouraging themselves. They all understood that the opportunities in the inner and outer domains differed greatly, and Feng Yi and Beiming were prodigies no less than them—how could their progress be slow?

…

Prince Qinghuan's follower, 'Tianlang World God', also attempted the source chain but stopped at five hundred li.

Fire Fairy Su Youji actually reached nearly six hundred li, showing she was skilled at resisting illusions—this was her path—but her achievement was still insufficient.

Feng Yi's follower, 'Yanhui Immortal', actually reached nine hundred and ten li! This startled Ji Ning and the others watching. How could he walk so far on the source chain? He was close to Prince Qinghuan and far surpassed Huo Jin Shuijun!

Of course, in actual combat, Yanhui Immortal was far inferior to Prince Qinghuan, Huo Jin, and Tianhuo.

But in resisting illusions alone, Yanhui Immortal was clearly very strong.

…

"Feng Yi, Beiming, you're in the inner domain, we're in the outer domain. Don't come out weaker than us," Prince Qinghuan called from afar, his voice transmitted through spatial fluctuations.

"We part ways now. Don't disappoint us," Huo Jin said, his eyes full of battle intent.

Su Youji also gazed at Ji Ning from afar.

Yanhui Immortal looked at his master, Feng Yi Xinjun.

The two sides parted.

Prince Qinghuan and his group flew away to explore mysterious places in the outer domain for opportunities, while Ji Ning and Feng Yi Xinjun delved deep into the inner domain.

"Impressive."

"Truly remarkable."

"Where did this batch of World-level cultivators come from?" The twelve World-level cultivators and Yuxiao Dao Lord watching nearby were amazed. They had been exploring the outer domain for a long time and had tried the source chain, knowing how difficult it was. Yet among the eight World-level cultivators called Feng Yi and Beiming, two had passed, and two had even reached over nine hundred li!

Two had passed, and two had even reached over nine hundred li!

"Impressive."

"Their mental state is extraordinary. They must be disciples of some great power."

"Being able to issue eight Ancient Domain Tokens at once, they're certainly not from an ordinary sect." They discussed among themselves, firmly remembering Ji Ning and the other seven.

…

Inner domain.

Ji Ning and Feng Yi glanced at the source chain. Prince Qinghuan and his group had already flown away.

"Let's go," Feng Yi said. "When we leave the inner domain, we'll meet again."

"Mm," Ji Ning nodded. He had left a signal talisman with Su Youji, so when they left the inner domain, he could easily sense her location. He believed Feng Yi and his follower Yanhui Immortal also had means to sense each other.

The inner domain world spanned a billion li.

A billion li might sound large, but for powerful cultivators, it wasn't.

An immensely powerful force enveloped the area. Here, one couldn't fly, release divine sense, or teleport—only walk step by step. Fortunately, Ji Ning and the others could walk extremely fast, easily surpassing the limits of the Dao.

"This is a battlefield." Feng Yi and Ji Ning walked and soon stood atop a mountain peak, gazing at the entire inner domain world.

At a glance,

the land was covered with ravines, canyons, ruins, and pits—a battered world. One terrifying canyon exuded an astonishing sword intent, vast and overwhelming, suffocating Ji Ning. It was the strongest sword intent he had ever felt.

Even the strongest sword strike demonstrated by Emperor Xue Jian, compared to the canyon's sword intent, fell far short.

Sword intent surged.

Blade intent roared.

Water light rippled.

Time and space were chaotic.

The battle traces left in the inner domain world, though only remnants, allowed Ji Ning to glimpse the immense power of those great beings.

"So many corpses, almost all one hundred and eight thousand zhang tall," Feng Yi exclaimed.

"From this mountain, I can see twenty-six corpses," Ji Ning said, gazing into the distance. Mountains blocked the view, and the inner domain's immense power prevented their divine eye techniques from seeing beyond. In normal places, they could see through even sealed buildings, but not here.

Unfortunately, not here.

"Great beings in human form are all one hundred and eight thousand zhang tall. Those larger are special lifeforms," Ji Ning said.

"They should all be Eternal Emperors," Feng Yi judged.

Divine body height indicated strength.

At the peak of the World level, Ji Ning and others had thirty-six thousand divine crystals, and their Dao trees in the chaotic space of their golden cores were thirty-six thousand zhang tall. Their true divine bodies were also thirty-six thousand zhang. However, most great beings came from mortals, who were typically about one zhang tall, so they were accustomed to mortal height. Thus, across the endless territories, including this alternate universe, they usually maintained mortal height.

Even the Mangya Kingdom prince, whose true form rivaled a chaotic star, would transform to match Ji Ning's height.

The peak of the World level was thirty-six thousand zhang.

The peak of the Dao Lord level was one hundred and eight thousand zhang.

One hundred and eight thousand zhang represented the brink of Dao integration. Upon successful integration, the divine body remained one hundred and eight thousand zhang with one hundred and eight thousand divine crystals, but the 'Dao' within the crystals became truly eternal, making the divine body perfectly eternal.

…

Ji Ning and Feng Yi walked through the inner domain, observing.

Besides them, they saw two Dao Lords and three World-level cultivators. Since the entire inner domain was only a billion li in radius, they quickly surveyed it all. There were thirty-five ancient great being corpses, each exuding an eternal aura.

"Thirty-five Eternal Emperors died here?" Feng Yi and Ji Ning held their breath.

The Mangya Kingdom had only a few Eternal Emperors, as did the Eternal Clan—Emperors were extremely rare.

How powerful were thirty-five Eternal Emperors combined? Yet such a massive force lay here, quietly dead.

"Eternal Emperors are truly eternal; death means they were killed."

"In normal battles, divine bodies are usually annihilated. But their bodies are intact, each very calm—standing or sitting cross-legged, as if peacefully accepting death." Feng Yi spoke solemnly via telepathy. "I can't imagine what force made thirty-five Eternal Emperors accept death so peacefully."

Ji Ning nodded.

Terrifying.

"This is the origin of a universe," Ji Ning telepathically said. "There are secrets we don't know. We're too weak and know too little."

"Mm," Feng Yi agreed.

"We've toured the inner domain. There are many opportunities, all left by the thirty-five ancient great beings. We haven't seen the universe's origin," Ji Ning said.

"We're too weak to glimpse the universe's origin," Feng Yi telepathically replied. "Let's follow the two Dao Lords and three World-level cultivators and seek the opportunities left by the thirty-five great beings."

"Mm," Ji Ning nodded.

The thirty-five ancient corpses had peacefully accepted death, prepared, leaving behind their treasures and artifacts.

Those with affinity could take them.

Each of these dead great beings was terrifying. Three of the most fearsome ones emitted an aura comparable to the great sovereign Ji Ning had seen.

…