Chapter 577: Remains from Countless Years Ago
The wind whistled past his ears.
When Chen Yan regained consciousness, he found himself plummeting downward, with a faint, dull ache in his chest. His meridians and internal organs had sustained a certain degree of damage.
He lifted his head, and what greeted his eyes was still that pitch-black rift that had completely torn the sky in two, stretching endlessly toward both sides.
The record point for this cycle of reincarnation was after Mr. You became a Sage.
While he was falling, Chen Yan immediately activated the Great Derivation Art.
Now that his cultivation base had reached the peak of the Divine Ability Realm, his speed in using the Great Derivation Art to heal his injuries was several times faster than when he was in the Unity Realm.
The purity and magnitude of the spiritual energy within Chen Yan’s meridians had both risen by more than one level. His spiritual sense was also far stronger, whether in terms of insight or control.
But aside from that, there were no other changes at all, which left Chen Yan feeling somewhat puzzled.
The chasm between a Unity Realm cultivator and a Divine Ability Realm cultivator was the natal divine ability.
The reward for this cycle of reincarnation had clearly granted Chen Yan a divine ability, but he was completely unable to perceive the divine ability he now possessed.
It was as if he had gained nothing at all.
Immediately after, he steadied himself and floated in mid-air once more.
Thud!
After a dull, muffled sound, Mr. You once again slammed his palm against the forehead of the Goddess Statue, then pushed it into the spatial rift.
The development was exactly the same as before the cycle of reincarnation.
But this time, Chen Yan no longer intended to just sit back and wait for death.
That withered eye would try to pull him into the spatial rift once more.
He decided to flee.
His cultivation base at the peak of the Divine Ability Realm was still far from sufficient—or rather, there was almost no hope at all—when facing that existence which tried to drag him into the spatial rift.
Fleeing was Chen Yan’s only choice.
The best he could hope for was to hold out until Mr. You returned from that pitch-black rift.
But, Master... could he really come back?
Chen Yan didn’t have much time to hesitate. He immediately began to flee into the distance.
A Divine Ability Realm cultivator could travel a thousand li in an instant.
After nearly ten breaths, Chen Yan’s figure had already appeared ten thousand li away.
But soon, he realized something was wrong.
The pitch-black rift that had appeared in the sky was spreading far faster than Chen Yan could fly through the air.
This meant...
Chen Yan lifted his head and cast his gaze into the pitch-black rift above.
That withered, solitary eyeball was watching him from there.
There was no escape.
A heavy weight settled in Chen Yan’s heart as he began to contemplate how to handle the situation.
He absolutely could not be dragged into the spatial rift. That sword intent had saved him once, and it would be extremely difficult for a second sword intent to appear and free him from the rift.
Countless cracks extended from the rift in the sky, which looked like the maw of an abyssal giant, writhing like tentacles as they twisted toward Chen Yan. Then, those cracks began to merge, eventually turning into a surging black tide.
It was coming again.
Chen Yan clenched his teeth, then began to activate the Xun Wind Step to its maximum potential.
His cultivation at the peak of the Divine Ability Realm, combined with the Xun Wind Step, could barely match the speed of the incoming black tide.
If this continued, he might actually be able to hold out for a while.
Just as this thought crossed Chen Yan’s mind, a sudden wave of crisis washed over him.
Although the black tide couldn’t catch up to his current speed, the spread of the spatial rift far exceeded Chen Yan’s maximum speed with the Xun Wind Step.
From above the direction Chen Yan was fleeing, another surge of black tide began to condense, then descended, attempting to surround him.
Chen Yan reacted immediately, diving toward the ground, brushing past the oncoming black tide. And then—
Boom!
An incredibly terrifying force suddenly erupted from within the black tide. There was almost no time for Chen Yan to react; he could only try his utmost to dodge to the side, but in the end, it was too late.
His right arm was instantly vaporized by that terrifying force. Losing his balance, Chen Yan barely managed to steady himself in the air, then began to activate the Great Derivation Art to regenerate his right arm.
At the same time, he turned and fixed his gaze on the black tide he had just brushed past.
From within that thick, viscous black tide, a figure slowly began to emerge.
Only when the viscous black tide had completely receded from that figure did Chen Yan finally see its full appearance.
It was a figure clad in tattered daoist robes, with a pallid, ashen face and vacant, lifeless eyes. A powerful aura radiated around it, indicating that this person was also a Divine Ability Realm cultivator.
But what struck Chen Yan as strange was that he could sense no trace of life from this Divine Ability Realm cultivator.
This pointed to one possibility.
The Divine Ability Realm cultivator who had emerged from the black tide was no living person, but a corpse.
Chen Yan then shifted his gaze to the tattered daoist robes worn by the corpse.
The patterns on the robes looked oddly familiar.
“The... Xiaori Immortal Sect?”
Recognizing the robes, Chen Yan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine!
This Divine Ability Realm cultivator who had emerged from the black tide was actually a cultivator from the Xiaori Immortal Sect, who should have fallen countless ages ago!
More black tide continued to surge from the spatial rift in the sky, rushing toward Chen Yan.
Originally, Chen Yan’s speed could only barely match the black tide. But with the relentless surge of black tide and the attack from the Divine Ability Realm corpse, his situation grew increasingly desperate.
He could just barely weave through the black tide that rushed toward him, but gradually, he seemed to become trapped within the tides formed by those cracks.
Chen Yan began to strain desperately toward the gaps left in the black tide. He had to escape its encirclement first.
But just as Chen Yan was about to break free from the black tide’s encirclement, he managed to divert his attention to the Divine Ability Realm corpse that had just emerged from the black tide, only to find that its figure had completely vanished.
The next instant, from the black tide Chen Yan had just brushed past again, another wave of terrifying force surged forth.
Since the enemy’s cultivation was no higher than his own, with Chen Yan’s experience, it was hard for him to fall for the same trick twice.
Chen Yan quickly sidestepped in the air, and this time, he was not hit by the attack launched from the Divine Ability Realm corpse that had re-emerged from the black tide. He dodged it.
But the black tide around him surged wildly, sealing off the gap he had been about to escape through, making his situation even more passive.
He had to deal with that Divine Ability Realm corpse as quickly as possible.
Chen Yan thought to himself, then turned his gaze to the Divine Ability Realm corpse, clad in the tattered daoist robes of the Xiaori Immortal Sect.
And then—
Li Fire Seal!
Crimson, blood-like flame roared forth from before Chen Yan. This wildly violent, pure and ultimate yang fire instantly spread for hundreds of li. As it incinerated the black tide surging toward Chen Yan, it was also engulfed by that tide.
The Divine Ability Realm corpse that had appeared atop the black tide was completely consumed by the crimson flame.