Chapter 1024: Plains of Despair
The divine tree of the Azure Wood Great World had been planted eons ago, and it had existed for an unknown period of time before the world it resided in was born. It was a tree that held up the fate of the Azure Wood Great World, but such a divine tree was being chopped at by a terrifying giant?
“Hmph! The divine tree has lived for hundreds of millions of years. Although the giant is mighty, it’s wishful thinking if it’s attempting to chop down the divine tree!” Granny Yin said through gritted teeth. In her mind, the divine tree was a god that was absolutely indestructible.
However, Yi Yun begged to differ. Every cleave the bronze giant produced was earth-shattering so the divine tree was likely to be damaged even if it was not felled.
What sort of existence was the bronze giant? Why was it so terrifying?
“The divine tree is indeed like a god, but even a true god is unlikely to be indestructible. I wonder if the bronze giant’s chopping of the divine tree has anything to do with the collapse of the Azure Wood Great World.”
Yi Yun’s remark left Granny Yin, who was simmering in killing intent, startled.
The collapse of the Azure Wood Great World had something to do with the chopping of the divine tree?
On careful thought, although the Azure Wood Great World had existed for eons, there were many worlds that had survived longer than the Azure Wood Great World. These worlds did not necessarily have a tree that held them up; but now, the Azure Wood Great World which had the divine tree rooted in it was collapsing at a faster rate than those worlds.
After this thought came to Granny Yin’s mind, it felt like a specter haunting her. She had spent her entire life in the Azure Wood Manor and she had subconsciously believed that the divine tree was indestructible. This had made her automatically neglect such a possibility.
Could the Azure Wood Great World’s collapse be explained by the bronze giant’s chopping of the divine tree?
“Granny, what do we do?”
Yue Yingsha had clearly come to the same conclusion as well. She felt a deep sense of helplessness when facing the bronze giant. What could she do in front of such an existence?
Even if the Divine Lord, Yue Ziya, was alive, what he could do was likely limited as well, let alone her.
Yue Yingsha and Granny Yin were astonished the moment Yi Yun said, “I might have…seen this bronze giant before.”
“You have seen it before?”
“It shouldn’t be the same person, but someone from the same race. I’ve once seen a phantom image of a bronze giant in a ruin.”
Back when Yi Yun entered the Pure Yang Sword Palace, he had witnessed its owner slash out a strike that cleaved off a corner of a world and simultaneously, the head of a bronze giant!
That scene had left an unforgettable impression on Yi Yun. However, a phantom image was nothing more than a phantom image. It was definitely different from seeing a bronze giant standing in front of him.
“What ruin?” Granny Yin asked quickly. By concealing information of the Pure Yang Sword Palace, Yi Yun told them a partial story of entering a dilapidated world and how he had witnessed the scene of a bronze giant being slain.
Granny Yin was somewhat disappointed after hearing his depiction because it was information that could hardly be analyzed to be of any value.
“Oh? That is…”
Yi Yun’s heart leaped as he saw the chains wrapped around the bronze giant suddenly tighten!
“Hua la!”
The chains blared as they tugged at the bronze giant’s flesh. One end of the chains was lodged deep within the bronze giant’s body.
The bronze giant revealed a grimacing look as all its veins bulged, as though bronze fluid was being injected into its muscles, swelling them up.
“Puah! Puah! Puah!”
Dozens of black fountains surged to the sky as they converged from every corner of the lands toward the bronze giant that resembled a whale sucking in water. Finally, countless small vortices appeared in the void as they were absorbed by the bronze giant’s pores.
After absorbing all of the liquid from the black fountains, the bronze giant seemed to calm down greatly. The dozens of chains that restrained the bronze giant also began to slack.
“It’s the water of the River Styx…”
Yi Yun could clearly tell that the black river, called River Styx by Granny Yin, covered the plains. It had previously devoured Marquis Wu Yun and the Immortal Rain Sect separatists. Although Marquis Wu Yun and company were rather powerful, they had been swallowed by the water of the River Styx, reducing their flesh and blood to withered bone.
“It’s indeed the River Styx. The rivers are scattered all across the plains and every tributary of the River Styx would form a land that spells certain doom. Now, every trace of it is being absorbed by the bronze giant.”
Granny Yin recalled of the countless white bones that bobbed in the black waters of the river and felt a baffling chill. Could those white bones be the remains of living creatures that had their flesh and bone consumed after they drowned in the black river?
“Successor,” said Granny Yin with a grave expression. “I have a feeling that the bronze giant is imprisoned here by those chains. In order to escape those chains, it has devoured every living creature that has entered the Door to the 33 Skies through the use of the black river’s waters!”
“Oh!?” Yue Yingsha’s heart palpitated. After hearing Granny Yin’s words, she made the connections with the records in canon and realized that it was not impossible.
Countless people had died in the Door to the 33 Skies, but if one thought about it, the ways they died ranged from having their flesh dissolve or bones melt, through decaying into ash, to having their bodies corrode. The ways they died had a common point. They were left without remains.
If it was conjectured that the final outcome of the flesh and blood of dead warriors in the Door to the 33 Skies was for them to be consumed by the bronze giant, then everything seemed to make complete sense.
This conjecture sounded sensational that even Yi Yun felt a sense of dreaded fear when he heard it.
“Successor, we might be in big trouble. This piece of land that was enveloped by the gray fog yesterday might be the most dangerous area in the Door to the 33 Skies. It might be very difficult to exit the moment we entered. If not, Ancestor Master from hundreds of millions of years ago would not have left his tombstone behind on this piece of land. That’s because he knew he faced certain doom…”
A Divine Lord of the Ten Thousand Fey Empyrean Heaven was almighty but had resigned himself to fate by believing that his days were numbered and left behind a tombstone. It was evident how terrifying this piece of land was.
Yi Yun took a deep breath when he heard Granny Yin’s words. If they were truly in such a situation, the chances of them leaving this place alive was exceedingly slim.
“Kid, what ideas do you have?” Granny Yin suddenly asked Yi Yun. Previously, Yi Yun had led them out of the Blood Desert, making her think of him in a different light. At that moment, all she could do was resort to desperate attempts to save a hopeless situation.
“I don’t know,” said Yi Yun with a shake of his head. It would be a lie to not be horrified while facing unknown dangers and certain death. “But regardless, let’s make an attempt. There might be a chance of survival…”
“Alright, I’ll lead the way.”
After Granny Yin said that, she immediately walked in front to lead the way. The person walking in front was naturally taking on the greatest risk. Although Granny Yin’s cultivation level was the highest, her bit of strength was unlikely to amount to much in this plains of death.
The sun gradually rose, but the weather seemed to turn gloomier. The bronze giant seemed to fade into the fog as it slowly disappeared.
It was unknown when a drizzle began to fall down from the sky. However, the raindrops were black in color, just like the black river’s water. It exuded a faint sanguine air to it that was suffocating.
Amidst the rain, a pair of eyes the size of bowls gradually emerged. It stared quietly at the advancing trio, and like an apparition, it began to slowly approach.