Cultivation starts from simplifying the exercises

Chapter 2164 Above the Heavenly Monarch

"Walk."

Chen Fei's voice was deep and hoarse. His dark golden escape light, like a burning meteor, tore through the still-unsettled energy turbulence and spatial folds, and sped toward the outer edge of the ruins.

Without hesitation, Cao Feiyu coordinated with Chen Fei's escape light, the moonlight and dark gold intertwining to increase their speed even further.

The devastating collision continues in the sky.

The white light and the black sun intertwined and annihilated, unleashing terrifying ripples powerful enough to obliterate entire planes.

Faintly visible, blurry figures roam freely between the darkness and the sun, their every move resonating with the power of the Great Dao, manifesting the rules, and distorting even space and time.

That was the Heavenly Emperor waging war, battling against those strange and terrifying nine black suns.

However, even the aftershocks of a battle at this level were enough to annihilate a cultivator of the Tai Cang Realm. The ever-expanding turbulent currents of rules, the distorted and collapsing spatial structure, the destructive energy storms that arose out of nowhere…

All of this proclaims that this ancient celestial ruin has become a true death trap.

In the brief quarter-hour escape, every breath was filled with sudden spatial rifts, energy turbulence, and attacks from crazed vengeful demons.

Every moment, they had to endure the oppressive pressure from the ever-approaching aftershocks of destruction behind them.

Finally, after traversing an area that had been completely reduced to nothingness, the Heavenly Barrier that separated the inner and outer regions appeared faintly at the edge of the horizon.

However, when the three of them finally saw what the barrier looked like, they all involuntarily frowned.

The once smooth, mirror-like surface of the barrier was now pitch black, as if it had been soaked in the thickest ink.

Above the barrier, the shimmering light had vanished, replaced by countless twisted, pitch-black lines. These lines intertwined to form dizzying, eerie patterns, exuding a thick aura of deathly decay.

Furthermore, one could clearly sense that this pitch-black barrier was an extension of the power of the nine black suns.

"This barrier... is it contaminated?" Wei Zhongqian steadied himself, looking at the eerie and terrifying black barrier before him, his voice hoarse.

Cao Feiyu subconsciously turned to look at Chen Fei beside her. Her cool eyes held a question, but also an unreserved trust and reliance.

Chen Fei did not respond immediately. His gaze swept over the dark barrier in front of him, and his divine sense cautiously extended. However, the moment it touched the surface of the barrier, a corrosive force eroded it in the opposite direction.

Chen Fei severed that wisp of divine consciousness and looked up at the sky.

There, the collision between white light and black sun continued, and terrifying energy fluctuations and turbulent rules raged like a storm, turning that celestial realm into chaos.

Each violent collision caused the entire ruins to tremble violently, space to distort, and the earth to crack.

With each clash between the Heavenly Lord and the Black Sun, Chen Fei could clearly feel that the pitch-black barrier in front of him would also tremble and fluctuate in sync.

"laugh!"

A condensed cyan sword aura shot out from Wei Zhongqian's hand and struck the surface of the barrier.

However, the azure sword energy, powerful enough to easily pierce through the stars, vanished without a trace the moment it touched the dark barrier, like a mud ox sinking into the sea.

"Buzz!"

A deafening roar, even more intense than before, suddenly echoed from the heavens, as if a celestial being had unleashed some earth-shattering divine power, engaging in an unprecedented head-on clash with a black sun.

The entire ruins trembled violently, like a broken drum being pounded by a giant. Large areas of space cracked open, revealing the pitch-black void behind them.

The earth undulated like ocean waves, and countless bottomless rift valleys formed in an instant.

At the same time, the barrier in front of them began to fluctuate rapidly.

Chen Fei, who had been operating the Undying True Light Mirror to its limit, detected an extremely faint anomaly.

The anomaly did not originate from the vibration of the barrier itself, but rather from the extremely brief rhythmic changes and gaps in power generated within the barrier due to the vibration.

"This barrier... doesn't seem so difficult to deal with." Chen Fei's mind raced, countless thoughts flashing through his mind in an instant. Combining this with the subtle sensation fed back by the Immortal True Light Mirror, an idea popped into his head.

Chen Fei flipped his right hand, and a pitch-black crystal, the very essence of a vengeful demon, appeared.

Wei Zhongqian, standing to the side, was puzzled when Chen Fei suddenly took out the essence of the vengeful demon. Although this essence of the vengeful demon contained pure demonic energy and negative rules, why was it being used to attack this strange barrier?

Cao Feiyu also glanced sideways, a hint of doubt flashing in her cool eyes, but she didn't say anything, just quietly looked at Chen Fei.

Chen Fei suddenly closed his five fingers together.

"Crack!"

With a crisp cracking sound, the crystal of the vengeful demon's essence was crushed into dust like fragile glass.

The pure essence of power and the pitch-black demonic energy of overwhelming resentment burst forth from the shattered crystal like a flood breaking through a dam.

The demonic energy surged, and within it, the distorted phantoms of vengeful demons could be faintly seen howling.

Normally, such pure demonic energy, if exposed, would be enough to pollute an area and erode the souls of low-level cultivators. But at this moment, what Chen Fei needed was precisely this pure demonic energy.

Chen Fei used his left hand, fingers pointing out like a sword, to draw mysterious runes in the air.

The burst of dark demonic energy, guided by Chen Fei's runes, rapidly converged and contracted towards the area where the three were located.

The demonic energy surged and wove around the three of them, forming a thin, dark protective shield. This shield wasn't thick, but it perfectly enveloped them, even temporarily masking and assimilating their auras with the pure demonic energy.

Under the illumination of the Immortal True Light Mirror, Chen Fei saw that after the three of them were enveloped by the pure demonic energy of the vengeful spirit, the sense of incongruity and rejection between them and the dark barrier had significantly weakened.

"The power of this barrier originates from the same source as those nine black suns. If we cover ourselves with pure demonic energy of the same attribute, we might be able to reduce the intensity of its active attacks and repulsion to some extent," Chen Fei explained rapidly.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongqian's eyes flashed with understanding, and he nodded.

A flash of inspiration, and the array puppet appeared beside Chen Fei.

Chen Fei gently patted the puppet, and the demonic energy shield that enveloped the three of them automatically separated a portion of the puppet's body, tightly wrapping it up.

A glint of inspiration flashed in the puppet's eyes, and without hesitation, it charged headlong into the violently shaking barrier in front of it.

"laugh……"

The moment the puppet touched the barrier, the dark, writhing surface of the barrier, like a sticky swamp, slightly caved in and swallowed it.

The demonic energy surrounding the puppet made contact with the negative energy of the barrier itself, producing a slight sound, but it did not cause a violent reaction from the barrier.

Chen Fei closed his eyes and concentrated, connecting with the array puppet through that trace of divine thought imprint, sharing the array puppet's perception.

Cold, deathly still, and endless resentment!

This was Chen Fei's first impression upon seeing the array puppet: the interior of the barrier was filled with an intensely dense, impenetrable black negative energy. This energy writhed and churned like living things, filled with countless twisted, painful, and insane fragments of spirit and negative emotions.

It's as if the resentment of millions of tragically deceased beings has been permanently imprisoned and refined here, forming this ocean of resentment.

Fortunately, Chen Fei's judgment was correct. The pure demonic energy enveloping the puppet was like a drop of water merging into the ocean of resentment. Although insignificant, it did not cause the ocean to reject or attack it.

Despite the endless onslaught of resentment and turbulent energy, the puppet, following Chen Fei's instructions, steadfastly swam towards the other side of the barrier.

"Buzz!"

Finally, just as Chen Fei felt the connection between his divine sense and the array puppet weakening, the array puppet safely passed through the dark barrier.

"The puppet has passed through safely. The resentment inside the barrier is overwhelming, but with demonic energy protecting us, it's not a big problem. Let's go!" Chen Fei said very quickly.

Cao Feiyu and Wei Zhongqian both nodded, offering no objections.

"go!"

With a low shout, Chen Fei stomped his feet hard in the void, causing the space beneath his feet to emit a low hum as if it could not bear the weight, and a circle of subtle spatial ripples spread out.

The next moment, Chen Fei rushed into the barrier, followed closely by Cao Feiyu and Wei Zhongqian.

The instant he touched the barrier, Wei Zhongqian's vision was swallowed by absolute darkness, and his senses of hearing, smell, touch... all of them were instantly stripped away and distorted.

However, Wei Zhongqian was ultimately at the late stage of the Tai Cang Realm. Even though he was seriously injured at the moment, his foundation was still intact, and he also had the demonic energy on his body as a barrier, so his perception quickly stabilized.

"Senior Sister Cao, Senior Brother Wei, guard your spiritual platform and follow my spiritual light." Chen Fei's deep and clear voice resounded directly in Cao Feiyu and Wei Zhongqian's ears through divine sense transmission.

The moment Cao Feiyu entered the barrier, she was also struck by a fierce wave of resentment. However, the Heavenly Sword Technique she cultivated was inherently pure and sharp, possessing a natural resistance to negative energy.

The moment the resentment struck, he activated his sword technique, the fierce sword intent protecting his sea of ​​consciousness and severing the invading threads of resentment.

Chen Fei took the lead, and the light of the Undying True Light Mirror broke through the thick resentment and negative energy in front of him. A moment later, the three of them landed on the other side of the barrier almost simultaneously, like three arrows leaping out of the ink pool.

Chen Fei stopped and quickly scanned the surrounding environment.

This is already the outer area of ​​the ancient celestial court ruins. Although the sky is still shrouded in the shadow of the nine black suns, at least the apocalyptic energy storms and spatial rifts of the core area are gone.

Chen Fei had no intention of stopping. The battle in the sky continued, and no one knew if other changes might occur.

Three streaks of light sped past the ruins.

Along the way, they saw more cultivators fleeing in panic, some alone, some in groups of three or five, all looking terrified and disheveled.

After a dozen or so breaths, finally, on the horizon ahead, the spatial vortex connecting the ruins to the outside world came into view.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Three streaks of light plunged into the spatial vortex.

Before their eyes, light and shadow shifted, space distorted, and they returned to Kunyuan.

However, before they could even catch their breath, a demonic aura far more violent and malevolent than it had been before they entered the ruins lashed out at them like an invisible shackle.

Amidst the demonic energy, the faint shrieks of countless vengeful spirits could be heard, as if the demonic energy of the entire Kunyuan had been stirred up by the dramatic changes within the ancient Heavenly Court ruins, becoming filled with aggression.

"The demonic energy in Kunyuan has surged, and it's almost on par with Xu Ningyuan," Wei Zhongqian said in a low voice. He had entered Xu Ningyuan many times and was quite familiar with its environment.

At this moment, the demonic energy of Kunyuan is far more violent and ferocious than ever before.

However, given the three's cultivation level at the late stage of the Tai Cang Realm, even in the real Xu Ning Abyss, as long as they are careful, there shouldn't be any major problems, and there is even less danger here.

After a short while, Chen Fei and his two companions finally broke out of Kunyuan.

Beneath their feet lay a landscape of jagged rocks and dark red soil. Behind them stretched a bottomless, pitch-black maw, continuously spewing forth dense demonic energy.

The original restrictions around the entrance had long been destroyed and eroded by the raging demonic energy, leaving only a scorched earth corrupted by demonic energy.

At this moment, dozens of figures were scattered around the entrance area, which was severely polluted by demonic energy.

These figures, dressed in various styles and possessing varying auras, all exuded the cultivation fluctuations of the Tai Cang Realm. Some sat alone on giant rocks, eyes closed, meditating, their bodies bearing traces of dishevelment and still-wet blood.

Some gathered in small groups, talking in hushed tones, their faces showing a complex mix of surprise, disbelief, and relief.

They were all cultivators who had escaped from the ancient Heavenly Court ruins even before Chen Fei and his companions. Their ability to escape from such an environment was itself proof of their strength and luck.

At this moment, most of these cultivators' gazes were focused on the terrifying entrance where demonic energy was surging.

When Chen Fei and his two companions burst out of the entrance gushing forth demonic energy, they immediately attracted a lot of attention.

After a moment of silence and observation, several figures hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked towards Chen Fei and his two companions.

Leading the way was an elderly man with a thin face, dressed in a gray Taoist robe. His cultivation was at the mid-stage of the Tai Cang Realm, and his aura was upright and peaceful, carrying a faint fragrance of pills, suggesting that he was a pill cultivator.

Behind him followed two young cultivators, a man and a woman, dressed in similar attire.

"Greetings, fellow Daoists."

The gray-robed elder stopped a few feet away from Chen Fei and his companions, bowed respectfully, and said in a gentle voice, "I am Ge Yun from Danxia Mountain, and I have brought my unworthy disciple to greet the three of you. Judging from your auras, have you just emerged from the ancient Heavenly Court ruins?"

He pointed to the entrance that was still frantically spewing out demonic energy, a hint of lingering fear on his face: "I wonder what kind of dramatic change has occurred deep within those ruins."

"My humble disciple and I, with our shallow cultivation, only explored the outer perimeter of the ruins before encountering a horde of demons and a spatial rift. We narrowly escaped death and were forced to retreat prematurely. We are utterly bewildered by these events and hope that you, fellow Daoist, can enlighten us so that we may have a better understanding of the situation."

Ge Yun was polite and frank, clearly genuinely wanting to find out information.

As Ge Yun spoke, several more cultivators approached. Although they didn't directly ask, they all pricked up their ears.

Chen Fei shook his head. "We don't know the specific reasons either, but this place is no longer safe. Something even more unforeseen could happen at any time. Everyone... take care of yourselves."

"This... thank you for informing me, fellow Daoist."

Not hearing the answer he wanted, Ge Yun still bowed solemnly to Chen Fei, "This place is indeed not a place to stay for long. I will take my unworthy disciple and leave quickly. Please be careful, fellow Daoists."

After saying that, Ge Yun shouted "Go!" to his two disciples. The three of them then transformed into three streaks of light and sped away in the direction away from Kunyuan without looking back.

"Whoosh..."

Just as Chen Fei and his two companions were about to soar into the sky, a very faint sound suddenly rang out without warning in the deepest part of the souls of every cultivator in this area.

The entire world suddenly fell silent.

It wasn't the disappearance of sound, but rather that all movement, change, and even the most basic particle vibrations were forcibly frozen in that instant by an invisible force.

The world fell into an absolute, chilling silence.

Chen Fei's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of pinpoints. He felt the surging Yuan energy within his body instantly freeze. Even the light reflecting his true self in the Undying True Light Mirror, which he had activated to its limit, dimmed at this moment.

Chen Fei tried to move his eyes to look at Cao Feiyu and Wei Zhongqian beside him, but found that he couldn't even complete such a simple action. His mind was still working, but his body was completely out of control, frozen in this solidified space-time.

The fleeing cultivators froze in mid-air, maintaining their speeding posture, like a still painting.

Time seemed to lose its meaning at this moment.

"Crack..."

A sound like shattering glass clearly resonated in the frozen world, penetrating the souls of every imprisoned person.

In a certain part of the sky, space gently tore open. Then, a figure stepped out from that spatial rift.

His step was as light and gentle as stepping on the steps of his own courtyard, casual and natural. But the instant he stepped out, the terrifying power that had enveloped the entire world receded quietly like a tide.

The frozen wind began to flow.

The stagnant demonic energy continued to surge.

The vanished sound has returned.

He was a man whose exact age was impossible to discern. He wore a moon-white robe, its style simple and unadorned, spotless, with faint cloud patterns embroidered on the hem.

He stood there, yet he gave people an extremely distant feeling, as if separated by endless time and space.

"This should be it. We've finally drawn out what's inside the ancient Heavenly Court ruins."

A voice rang out, and then the person took a step and vanished from the spot.

Without any spatial fluctuations or energy ripples, it simply vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed.

However, the space between heaven and earth, solidified like amber, did not immediately return to normal. It was as if a sponge, tightly gripped by an invisible hand, needed some time to slowly spring back and return to its original state after the external force disappeared.

The space was gently rippling, with tiny ripples almost invisible to the naked eye.

"Those are beings above the Heavenly Lords, far beyond our imagination. Even the slightest aftershock of their battle is enough to reduce us to ashes. Hurry, get as far away from here as possible," Wei Zhongqian said urgently, suppressing his churning blood.

Before he could finish speaking, Wei Zhongqian had already soared into the sky. Cao Feiyu, also recovering from her shock, grabbed Chen Fei beside her and they vanished into the air.

As Chen Fei followed Cao Feiyu, fragmented information about that realm flashed through his mind like lightning.

"Primordial Dao Origin Realm..."

Chen Fei murmured softly, his voice so low that only he could hear it. (End of Chapter)