Chapter 1274: The World Beyond
From the age of slash-and-burn agriculture to the rise and fall of dynasties, the Divine World had always hung overhead. Shrouded in mystery and the unknown, it was the wellspring of all legends. Even its true size was a question no one could answer with certainty.
The moment the Divine World opened, the stars seemed to come alive. They broke free from their original trajectories, becoming unpredictable, as if welcoming the Divine World.
No legend, theory, or experience could explain such a phenomenon.
At the first glimmer of light from the Divine World, prayers resounded throughout the White Horse Dynasty, its people beseeching the divine beings for protection.
“Your Excellency, His Majesty has sent someone to ask...” The registrar of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau reported.
The corner of the bureau director’s mouth twitched. His expression was complicated, making it impossible to tell whether he was crying or laughing. “What does he want to ask about? The Divine World?”
Is this something I can explain? Even if I resurrected every previous director of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau and gathered them all together, not one of them could explain this.
“Father, isn’t that piece of the Divine World getting bigger?” His son, who had remained quiet, suddenly spoke.
The bureau director and the registrar looked up simultaneously. Their already restless hearts jumped straight into their throats.
A fragment of the Divine World, enormous enough to fill their entire field of vision, was approaching them.
When his son had first noticed it, it was only the size of a sesame seed.
“Is this... a world-ending catastrophe?” The bureau director’s lips quivered, his heart sinking into despair. This is a heavenly calamity that no one can withstand.
When this fragment descended, the White Horse Dynasty would be annihilated. The rise and fall of dynasties, factional strife, and everything else would lose all meaning in that instant.
Just as despair consumed them, an indescribably gigantic hand appeared. It clutched the fragment as though it were a pebble, bringing it to a halt.
The bureau director’s knees buckled beneath him. He couldn’t muster even an ounce of strength. The highs and lows of his entire life couldn’t compare to what he had witnessed tonight.
I never believed in gods or immortals, but now I think I should.
~~~
“So this is what it’s like outside the Box World.” Lu Yang and the others eagerly slipped through the cracks of the Spiritless Land and emerged into the universe.
In the boundless expanse of the universe, rivers of stars hung upside down, and myriad stars shone resplendently, making all living beings seem infinitesimal. The stars before their eyes looked so close that they were within an arm’s reach.
Fragments of the Spiritless Land exploded around them like fireworks.
Time seemed to stand still. Lu Yang and the others were entranced by the breathtaking scenery.
Jiang Ping’an, Meng Junzi, and the others had never set foot in this vast starry sky. They felt their horizons had broadened.
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy and the other ancient cultivators were stirred by the sight, memories of the ancient era resurfacing in their minds.
Even Yun Zhi recalled that her favorite pastime as a child was lying in the grass and gazing at the stars.
“Wait, why are there stars nearby?!” Lu Yang exclaimed, being the first one to point out the problem. When the Four Ancient Immortals refined the stars into continents, hadn’t they refined every star within reach?
Logically, there should be no stars in the vicinity of the Box World. Yet reality clearly says otherwise.
Now wasn’t the time to admire the starry sky. Even the smallest fragment of the Spiritless Land was composed of hundreds of condensed stars. What celestial body in the universe could withstand a collision with one of those fragments?
If the fragments struck a star[1]inhabited by living beings, the consequences would be even more disastrous.
Lu Yang executed Buddhist Kingdom in Palm, grabbing the most distant fragment.
Seeing Lu Yang’s actions, the others also realized the danger of letting the fragments scatter unchecked. One by one, they unleashed their mighty abilities. Heaven-Earth Dharma Manifestation, true forms of demons, Three Heads Six Arms, the power of rules—everyone plucked stars and seized moons, anchoring every fragment in place.
Although the fragments had appeared to be moments from colliding with the stars, they were actually far apart and hadn’t posed any real danger yet. Once the group recognized the potential threat, they eliminated it with ease.
“We forgot that both the stars and the Box World are in constant motion. The stars can’t possibly be in the same positions as they were four hundred thousand years ago,” the Four Ancient Immortals explained.
When the Box World opened, the dark clouds and lightning had dispersed, and the people below could no longer see them, so they no longer needed to keep up the act.
The Qilin Immortal lay sprawled across one of the continent fragments, stretching lazily like a cat. “It’s much more comfortable in the outer world.”
“Exactly. Out here, be it sparring or comprehending mighty abilities, there’s no need to hold back.” The Heaven Mandate Immortal and the others concurred.
The Box World was full of people. At the immortal level, the slightest misstep could bring disaster upon others. On the other hand, it was a different story in the universe. One could find any barren, lifeless star and go all out without worrying about collateral damage.
Across every continent of the cultivation world, humans and demons were engaged in fervent discussion about the universe that was revealed as the clouds dispersed.
“So is that the world beyond? It doesn’t look much different from the starry sky we see every day.” A young cultivator pouted. All that excitement was for nothing. Boring.
His elder, a Divine Transfiguration cultivator, was more knowledgeable. “That’s because your cultivation is still too low. The outer world is much more massive than our Box World. The higher your cultivation, the more deeply you feel it. Also, there are real stars outside the Box World.”
The Fusion cultivators gathered in small groups, rubbing their hands together, ready for some serious action. “The seal is finally undone. Let’s proceed with the plan we agreed on!”
Three Fusion cultivators arrived in the imperial city and located the Outer World Investigation Bureau established by Great Xia. They lined up, collected application forms, filled in their personal information and team preferences, signed letters of guarantee, submitted their documents, and waited for approval.
The Outer World Investigation Bureau was staffed primarily by the members of the Luoshui Guard. Ever since the two major threats of diabolic creeds and archaic cultivators had been resolved, the Luoshui Guard’s workload had decreased drastically.
Since the bureau dealt with high-level cultivators and was short on personnel, the imperial court had reassigned them here.
The Buddhist Kingdom, the East Sea, and the Demon Region had established similar organizations, as decided during the meeting. This was to ensure that civilian cultivators would venture outside in an orderly manner.
Yu Qian, one of the Luoshui Guard’s Nine Palaces, warned these Fusion cultivators before their departure. “Congratulations, your applications have been approved. Don’t forget the newly promulgated Outer World Laws and the letters of guarantee you signed.
“If you violate the regulations out there, even if you flee to the ends of the universe, we will hunt you down and bring you to justice.”
“Of course, of course. You know us well, Fellow Daoist Yu. We guarantee we won’t cause any trouble.” The three Fusion cultivators could barely contain their grins. They hadn’t expected their applications to be approved so quickly.
The three were sworn brothers and shared a close bond. Having teamed up, they flew upward from Great Xia and passed through a layer of array, successfully emerging into the outer world.
This array automatically scanned the items people carried when leaving and the things they brought back upon returning. It also served to prevent the Box World’s spirit qi from leaking outside.
“So this is the world outside. It’s huge.” The leader sighed in awe, casually brushing aside a star that obstructed his view.
“But there’s no spirit qi here. This is a major problem.”
“We should try to minimize our use of spirit qi then. We can rely on our physical bodies to fly and leap between stars.”
“True. Let’s first explore the nearby stars and see if there’s any life on them.”
“Better to err on the side of caution. The living beings in the outer world may be stronger than the three of us combined.”
1. Veela: I personally believe that this should be "planet," because stars by definition cannot be inhabited, but the author wrote it this way ☜