Chapter 421 - 348: Menacing Approach
At the outskirts of the Great Wilderness Demon Court lies the Ten Directions Illusory Sea, a realm shrouded year-round in pale purple Mirage Qi, its surface drifting with layers upon layers of illusory dream bubbles—a sanctuary for the Sea Mirage Clan.
Ordinary cultivators who stray into it are devoured by the illusion realm, leaving not even a trace of remains.
At this moment, the perilous area gathers dozens of powerful demon auras!
On the shore, dozens of Tier Three Demon Kings of the Sea Mirage Clan congregate, each with a serious expression, collectively gazing at the central sea’s distorted void, intentionally lightening their breaths.
In front of the demon kings, a figure, a striking blue silhouette, floats mid-air—the Sea Mirage Emperor, wielding authority over the Illusory Sea.
He wears a robe adorned with pearls, holding a scepter wholly pearly white, atop which sits a fist-sized Mirage Bead.
The Sea Mirage Emperor’s gaze is firmly fixed on the void above the sea, where the space visibly ripples at a discernible pace.
More peculiarly, at the center of the ripples, narrow black passages are slowly forming, their inner walls pulsing with unfamiliar spiritual energy waves, faintly revealing the outline of an opposite world.
"As expected, a simple descent of realms!"
A deep bewilderment rolls out from the Sea Mirage Emperor’s throat, fingers involuntarily tightening around the scepter, causing the blue light of the Mirage Bead to tremble.
He had seen records of descents of realms in the Great Wilderness Demon Manual but never thought he would witness such a spectacle.
His words had barely finished when a majestic voice suddenly echoed behind him, like thunder roaring over the sea:
"Yes, indeed it is a descent of realms."
The Sea Mirage Emperor was immediately alarmed, his body hair standing on end—being a seasoned Demon Emperor of mid-stage Nascent Soul, he had an acute perception for miles around.
Yet when this figure appeared, he hadn’t noticed it at all.
He swiftly turned, only to relax instantaneously upon seeing the figure, hastily bowing in greeting:
"Shen Yun pays respect to the Demon Venerable!"
The dozens of Demon Kings also turned collectively, and upon seeing the figure dressed in a black-gold brocade robe, they prostrated themselves on the ground, barely daring to breathe.
The newcomer was none other than Chen Sheng, surrounded by a subtle aura of Yin Yang Qi, black and white halos flowing, causing the nearby Mirage Qi to automatically recede three feet.
Standing there, he seemed a manifestation of the cosmos’ Yin Yang, not overtly exerting pressure yet invoking reverence deep in the souls of the demon kings.
Full of emotion, the Sea Mirage Emperor thought: "In mere centuries, the demon venerable’s aura has become so magnificent, unfathomable."
He was from the period of the Golden Feather Demon Venerable, having seen the Golden Feather Demon Venerable multiple times. Although powerful, his pressure was far less compared to this new Roc Demon Venerable before him.
Chen Sheng paid no mind to the demons’ respect; his gaze bypassed the crowd, fixating on the twisted void, his pupils reflecting the expanding black passages as he quickly formed a judgment.
There are two types of descents of realms!
The first type is when a Void Refining Cultivator forcefully descends from a high-level world, as the Four Seas Wanderer did back then.
Such a descent would trigger violent upheavals in the Small Thousand World’s celestial laws, with Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi reversing, sun and moon losing light, to resist the invader.
Though the void now twisted, the surrounding Mirage Qi still flowed by Illusory Sea’s laws, and spirit veins in the distance operated stably, clearly not this type.
The second type is the natural descent caused by overlapping worlds in the Great Void dimension.
Initially, there are minute spatial passages, merely allowing low-tier cultivators through, with these passages later gradually enlarging until the two realms fully contact.
This descent, though lacking celestial upheaval, also results in bloody storms—not merely a conflict over resources but over the Dao itself.
The victor can place a Celestial Sacrifice Platform at the opponent’s world’s core, connecting with their own world’s celestial laws, harvesting the world’s origin.
Though most origin will integrate into Heaven and Earth, only a rare few transform into origin beads, remaining in cultivators’ hands.
Such origin beads, rare in quantity, are not highly useful to Void Refining Cultivators but are treasures for Divinity Transformation Cultivators to enhance cultivation and break bottlenecks.
However, this descent of realms is time-limited, generally lasting over a hundred years, and after the overlap ends, the phenomenon disappears.
Though the Small Thousand World’s origin may deplete, it won’t harm the world’s roots, causing Small Thousand World reincarnation.
Chen Sheng spoke with a tone of authority:
"Rise, when was this scene first discovered?"
The Sea Mirage Emperor quickly rose, beckoning two Demon Kings: "Demon Venerable, these two demons were the first to notice this anomaly."
At this moment, the tentacles of the two demons still trembled slightly, evidently intimidated both by the descent’s phenomenon and the Demon Venerable’s aura.
The two Demon Kings quickly prostrated themselves on the ground, voices trembling:
"Greetings, Demon Venerable!"
After Chen Sheng nodded in signal, the two demons began narrating:
"Reporting to the Demon Venerable, three days ago, the patrolling demons reported unusual fluctuations in the Mirage Qi at the Illusory Sea’s edge; upon checking, we saw the void ripple."
"Initially, we didn’t pay much attention as void instability is common in the Great Wilderness, especially in such a complex spiritual energy place as the Illusory Sea."
"We only instructed low-tier clansmen to stay away, to avoid being swallowed by the void rift."
"But by the third day, those ripples condensed into black passages, and strange auras emerged from the other side; never having witnessed such a spectacle, we dared not delay, immediately reported to the Sea Mirage Palace."
The Sea Mirage Emperor appropriately added, with a hint of pride in his tone:
"Following the report, the patrol’s Great Demon King promptly came to investigate."
"The old demon has seen much; upon sight, he felt it closely matched the descent of realms recorded in the Demon Manual, promptly sealing off the sea area and reporting it to me."
"I came to confirm personally, then immediately conveyed it to the Demon Venerable."
Chen Sheng spoke lightly, his tone carrying a trace of encouragement: "Reporting to me in just three days. You certainly manage your subordinates well."
From discovering the anomaly to layer upon layer reporting, then conveyed to him, had only taken three days; such efficiency was exceedingly high, reflecting the Sea Mirage Emperor’s ability to govern the sea area.
The Sea Mirage Emperor quickly bowed, humbly said: "It’s all thanks to the Demon Venerable’s sound governance, my subordinates dare not claim credit."
Chen Sheng said no more, his gaze returning to the void.
Now, the black passage had widened several inches from before, the faint foreign aura emanating from the passage growing clearer.
He furrowed his brows, a tinge of doubt arising in his heart: "In just three days, forming a passage this size, the speed is too swift!"
The Demon Manual didn’t provide many records on descents of realms; the Sea Mirage Emperor could barely recognize such phenomena, lacking understanding of the underlying details.
But Chen Sheng’s Yang Soul wielded immense knowledge from Yunlu Daoist Palace in the Spirit Realm, thoroughly versed in many high-tier Immortal Dao aspects, naturally aware of a descent’s normal progression.
Ordinary Small Thousand Worlds overlap, from ripple emergence to forming such passages, takes at least half a year.
Yet before him, the passage, in merely three days, had initially taken shape, its speed several times faster.
A sharp glimmer flashed in Chen Sheng’s black and white eyes:
"This abnormal speed can only stem from two possibilities: firstly, the opposite is a Mid Thousand World, its essence far exceeding the Celestial Abyss Realm, descent speed would naturally accelerate."
"But a Mid Thousand World’s descent would inevitably trigger fierce resistance from this realm’s celestial laws, displacing sun and moon, spiritual energy running riot, as I, as a Celestial Venerable of Divinity Transformation, have the tightest connection to Heaven and Earth, and could not remain oblivious."
He sensed the tranquil surrounding spiritual energy, ruling out this possibility.
"That leaves only the second possibility."
Chen Sheng already formed a judgment, a cold light flickering in his eyes:
"Opposite cultivators’ deliberate interventions; they must have employed some special methods accelerating the descent progress."
"Such urgency hints at their supreme confidence in their strength, presuming they can easily subdue this realm’s cultivators."
"Every day the descent advances means a sooner harvest of the world’s origin; within the hundred-year overlap limit, more gains are seized."
"Humph, let’s see who harvests whom!"