Chapter 970: Ancient Path of Stars
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
Qin Wentian glanced at his companions as he smiled, "Everyone has broken through. With this, we are all at the same cultivation level and who knows, there might even be an opportunity to ascend to immortality together."
"Our luck is good. Who would have thought that we would encounter the Sacred Luminance in this place? If not, we wouldn’t have broken through so fast to the ninth level of Celestial Phenomenon," Jun Mengchen replied with a laugh.
"In that case, me and Princess Qing`er seem to be at a disadvantage. We were already at the ninth level of Celestial Phenomenon. Damn," Nanfeng Yunxi also seemed to be in good mood as she started to joke about. "With the aid of this holy radiance from ancient times, it wouldn’t even be strange for someone to break through two levels. Our luck is truly good. But then again, you could also say it’s not that great. If we entered the Sacred Luminance after we broke through to immortality, the effects would be even greater."
"This Sacred Luminance, is there truly no way to bring it out of here?" Qin Wentian stared at the Sacred Luminance with a heart filled with reluctance. This was a legendary holy light. How good would it be if he could take it with him and use it on Qingcheng? If he could do so, the disparity between them in terms of cultivation would decrease and wouldn’t be too far apart.
"It’s not impossible. But the Sacred Luminance is a holy radiance from ancient times. If you wanted to take it with you by infusing it in some treasures, you could only use supreme grade sacred treasures from ancient times to do so. But do you have such a storage treasure in the first place?" Nanfeng Yunxi smiled. Even if such an ancient sacred treasure existed, Qin Wentian aside, only a a very rare, select few in the entire immortal realms would have one of them.
Qin Wentian shrugged. "Since the Antiquity City has the Sacred Luminance, maybe our luck will be good and we can find some sacred storage treasures here to take it away with us."
"I’m hoping we’ll have such good luck too." Nanfeng Yunxi smiled. This Qin Wentian was truly greedy—he even wanted to obtain an ancient sacred treasure.
At this moment, a shrill cry came from within the area of Sacred Luminance. Purgatory’s body, which was was bathed in fire, was now completelely reconstructed. It was originally a spirit that had taken corporeal form, but after being nurtured in Qin Wentian’s bloodstream, in addition to the fact that it was sentient, and had experienced the baptism of the Sacred Luminance, she had completely transformed and possessed a real body. That body covered with fiery runes, was now incomparably lofty, like a true divine bird from the avian species.
Purgatory transformed into a bolt of red lightning directly zooming towards Qin Wentian and circled the top of his head, appearing incomparably excited.
"Purgatory, congratulations." Qin Wentian smiled. Purgatory slowly landed to perch on his shoulder, using her soft velvet wings to gently brush Qin Wentian’s face.
"Senior Brother, what do we do about this fellow?" Jun Mengchen asked, staring at Mo Xie who was still in the area of Sacred Luminance.
"Since he knows we’re going to deal with him, he’ll surely stay in there forever and not come out. Let’s head in front to see if this place has any more good fortune. He’s not worth our time. After all, with our current level, Mo Xie is no longer a threat to us," Qin Wentian replied. Jun Mengchen shot a cold glance at Mo Xie. "Looks like we can only choose to spare him for the time being."
Jun Mengchen also understood that now, since they were all at the peak of the ninth level, Mo Xie being a threat to them was already no longer a concern. If there was another war between the others and the Qin Sect, regardless of whether their opponents were the Violet Sect or the Evil Palace, they would all have to pay an extremely heavy price.
"Let’s move out and take a good look at this Antiquity City." Qin Wentian soared into the air. His body shimmered with runic glows, resembling the body of a wind roc.
"Ok, let’s go." Jun Mengchen stepped out. As a group, they soared into the air, continuing into the depths of the city.
"What’s that?" Qin Wentian stared at a far off distance to the left. There was a fiery glow towering straight up into the heavens, resembling the eruption of a volcano. Lava flames spewed out ferociously, as red as blood, dying the sky a brilliant red and causing a devastating heat around that region.
"The power of such fire isn’t something we can imagine. We can ignore that place." Nanfeng Yunxi was more familiar with the fire attribute element. Upon seeing the richness of the color of the lava, she understood that none of them would be able to withstand that.
Qin Wentian and his companions continued on, and saw many strange phenomena. Some of these scenes were completely beyond their imagination. There was an underworld river that could corrode everything, a void stream that could destroy everything. They didn’t even dare getting close to those areas.
To immortal kings or emperors, these strange places would only attract them. They might be able to use them to break through in their cultivation level. But for Qin Wentian and his companions, they were merely Celestial Phenomenon Ascendants. They were simply too weak, so they simply didn’t dare to get close to it.
Finally, the road came to an end. Underneath the starry skies, boundless starlight cascaded down on the Antiquity City. At the end of the road, astral gates manifested before them. These astral gates looked like they originated from the primordial era, and seemed able to connect to the stars. This point seemed to be the endpoint for the Antiquity City, but it also seemed like a place of beginnings. It felt as though the moment they stepped through this astral gate, they would enter the space where all the stars were at, able to see kings and emperors of ancient times.
"There seems to be no other path forward," Jun Mengchen said quietly as he stared at the astral gates. "What do you all think is inside there?"
"The Ancient Path of Stars." Nanfeng Yunxi’s beautiful eyes stared ahead. She inclined her head and looked at the sky as she continued, "There are simply too many legendary things I’ve read only in records that were true. To think that the Ancient Path of Stars has also appeared. This is a route for one to make a pilgrimage, to pay their respects to the divine."
"What does it mean?" Qin Wentian asked.
"The Sacred Luminance is a holy radiance belonging to the legends. The Ancient Path of Stars was also something that originated from ancient legends. There are records saying that this is a path of trials set by divine beings, and if one can pass all the trials, they’ll be able to gain the opportunity to pay their respects to the divine. Now that I see this Ancient Path of Stars, I finally understood why the Antiquity City exists."
Nanfeng Yunxi finally understood the greatest secret of the Antiquity City. Maybe, the Matriarch Southern Phoenix had known of this as well, but because of her low cultivation base, she hadn’t been informed. Now that she’d learned of this, her heart couldn’t help but tremble.
"Are you saying the reason for the existence of the Antiquity City is because the ancients wanted to worship the divine?" Qin Wentian asked.
"Regardless of today or in ancient times, does one’s cultivation reach the end when one is at the peak of the immortal emperor realm? Are there even higher cultivation realms, but they had no way to step into it despite them wanting to?" Nanfeng Yunxi’s voice turned solemn as she continued, "For ancient emperors, they wanted to pursue a higher realm, using the entirety of the strength they accumulated in their lifetime. In that case, there was only one path left, they had to seek miracles in divine ruins. This place we’re all in, it’s none other than a divine ruin. This is the reason why ancient emperors all headed to the Antiquity City. They might have found what they sought, but it’s unknown if anyone succeeded in passing through the Ancient Path of Stars and truly met with divine beings."
"Miracles? Divine ruins?" Qin Wentian mumbled. "Since this is a divine ruin, surely we have to go and take a look."
"You’re only at the Celestial Phenomenon Realm!" Nanfeng Yunxi stated in shock.
"Since this is a divine ruin, the ones who created this should have anticipated the possibility of people of various cultivation levels entering the Ancient Path of Stars. I’m already at the peak of Celestial Phenomenon, a step away from immortal ascension. Now that the Ancient Path of Stars lies before me, how can I not explore it to its fullest?" Qin Wentian spoke, his words causing Nanfeng Yunxi’s heart to tremble.
At the peak of Celestial Phenomenon, a step away from immortality? Once they broke through to Immortal-Foundation, that was already the sixth cultivation realm. It was really about time to cast their vision further.
"In addition, I also wish to experience and attempt this path of dreams." Qin Wentian emanated arrogance. His eyes were incomparably sharp as he stared ahead.
He started cultivating when he was a mere youth, and experienced the passage of five great cultivation realms. Body Refinement, Arterial Circulation, Yuanfu, Heavenly Dipper and Celestial Phenomenon. Now that he was at the peak of Celestial Phenomenon, he only needed another step to enter the Immortal-Foundation Realm.
For immortals, all of them had truly become experts. They were able to claim hegemony in particle words, and had even become kings and emperors here in the immortal realms.
As for the seventh realm, the immortal king/emperor realm that consisted of immortal kings and emperors.
Were there even higher realms that one could achieve in cultivation?
This Antiquity City, the Ancient Path of Stars, was a path meant for immortal kings and emperors. Right now, although he had yet to break through to become an Immortal-Foundation expert, he still wanted to experience it.
"I wish to take a look as well." Jun Mengchen clutched his fist as a blazing expression appeared in his eyes,
Nanfeng Yunxi stared at the two of them and felt her heart being emboldened. "Okay, since we’ve come this far, let’s do this together and traverse the Ancient Path of Stars. But if we really encounter a life-threatening danger, and if you can flee, remember to flee no matter what."
"Let’s go." Jun Mengchen was burning with impatience.
Qin Wentian stared at Qing`er, holding on to her hand, "Qing`er—"
"I will go wherever you go." Qing`er immediately cut him off, seeming to know what Qin Wentian was about to say. Qin Wentian could only smile ruefully as he glanced at her with tenderness in his eyes. "You must remember to protect yourself."
"Mhm." Qing`er nodded. After which, all of them walked towards the path, stepping through an astral gate.
Instantly, Qin Wentian appeared in another dimension that seemed like another illusory world. Qing`er and the rest were no longer with him—he was here alone. Countless rays of light landed on his body, and abruptly, an incomparably blazing light radiated out from him. In the illusory world, a fearsome avian beast rushed towards him. This desolate beast emitted an aura of intense balefulness, and Qin Wentian had never seen its kind before. In the blink of an eye, the talons of that demonic bird were already above him, preparing to slash down with crushing might.
Qin Wentian’s aura instantly burst out. His body shone with a resplendent runic light as runes manifested from his body. His palm blasted out ferociously, powerful enough to shatter the stars themselves.
With a thunderous boom, Qin Wentian was blasted back. A blood-colored light circulated around that desolate beast, as a runic glow filled the sky. This was like a demonic bird that originated from the primordial era. Its aura far surpassed any existence Qin Wentian had seen before, beyond anyone on the same cultivation level as him, including Mo Xie and Zi Daoyang.
The eyes of the avian beast were fixed on Qin Wentian. Its body rushed out again, leaving behind after-images as boundless runic light erupted outwards once more. Qin Wentian only felt the sky changing color as numerous clones of the demonic bird blotted out the sky, rushing at him to tear him into pieces.
Qin Wentian’s heart trembled. As expected of the Ancient Path of Stars. The trials were simply too terrifying. However, the more difficult the trial was, the stronger his battle intent would be. If he could clear this path, would there be a miracle waiting for him?
With a roar of anger, Qin Wentian instantly unleashed the particles of divine energy he had painstakingly condensed. Blasting out with a palm that could shatter the sky, he blocked the innumerable attacks. A surge of chaotic currents ravaged the surroundings, and in the midst of this chaos, a supremely sharp talon slashed out. Qin Wentian was long prepared. His palm shone with a fearsome pure-white glow—as well as the blood-red glow of his demonic bloodline—and instantly smashed outwards, causing another earth-shattering boom to shake the space.
After which, that avian beast attacked in a frenzy while Qin Wentian depended on the defense of his physical body to withstand it. Right now, Qin Wentian’s aura was incomparably vast. Layers of armor in colors of red and white enveloped him, and he was stronger compared to his past self. With a rumbling sound, his body expanded and he grabbed hold of the wings of the demonic bird. With a deafening roar, blood splattered through the sky—Qin Wentian had torn the terrifying body of the demonic bird into two with brute strength!