Chapter 1444 : A Perilous Voyage Through Cursed Lands

"After this matter, we must swiftly gather resources to break through to the Middle Stage Earth Immortal as soon as possible," Eldrin Chen murmured inwardly, a trace of solemnity coloring his expression.

Though he harbored this thought, he was acutely aware that cultivation was a gradual process. Achieving rapid leaps in progress at higher realms was exceedingly difficult.

Setting aside these contemplations, he listened as the Violet Mystery Path Master at the center of the Great Hall spoke, "Now that all esteemed guests have assembled, this old man shall first lay out the details."

"Our journey to the Nether Abyss Purgatory Sea [a vast and perilous sea of demonic flames and nether energies] will pass through the Myriad Crow Forbidden Land [a cursed realm teeming with spectral crows]. The dangers within are immense. Should we inadvertently encounter a Crow Tide [a devastating swarm attack by the spectral crows], even an Earth Immortal Great Perfection cultivator would face the peril of falling. If any wish to withdraw, now is the time."

Upon hearing this, the assembled cultivators remained silent; not a single person chose to withdraw at this moment.

Having come to battle the Demonic Cultivator [practitioners who use malevolent and soul-corrupting methods] and condense the Pure Light of Merit [a radiant aura formed from accumulated virtuous deeds], they were all prepared for the risks. Those who truly feared would likely not have come in the first place.

Seeing no objections from the crowd, the Violet Mystery Path Master continued, "Since there are no dissenting voices, this old man will proceed with the arrangements."

"We shall traverse the Myriad Crow Forbidden Land aboard the Heaven-Escaping Ancient Ship [a legendary vessel capable of navigating through spatial distortions and deadly miasmas]. At that time, unity and cooperation from all will be paramount. Should anyone attempt to flee midway or sow discord that shakes morale, do not blame this old man for showing no mercy."

Having said this and observing that the assembly remained steadfast, the Violet Mystery Path Master gave a slight, approving nod.

With a faint smile, he stroked his long beard and said, "The passage fare is one thousand Immortal Source [a highly concentrated form of spiritual energy used by high-level cultivators] per person. Those of the Earth Immortal Realm [a high stage of cultivation where one's spirit merges with the earth] are exempt from the fare."

"Furthermore, to enter the Nether Abyss Purgatory Sea [a perilous sea of netherworld flames and purgatory energy], one must use a secret art to suppress one's own Pure Light of Merit [a radiant aura formed from accumulated virtuous deeds and good karma]."

"I possess a scroll of this secret art and a light-condensing secret treasure. If any of you desire them, you may purchase them."

As he spoke, the Violet Mystery Path Master flicked his sleeve, releasing two types of treasures.

Eldrin Chen glanced at them. One of the treasures was a secret artifact called the Light-Condensing Jade [a jade artifact that gathers and contains light].

This treasure could suppress the power of the Pure Light of Merit, though its effect lasted only ten thousand years. Its value was approximately one thousand Immortal Source.

The other was the secret art 'Heaven-Deceiving Secret Art' [a profound technique to conceal one's nature from heavenly perception]. This art could not only suppress the Pure Light of Merit but also restrain Karmic Sin Power [the negative spiritual residue of evil deeds], and could even conceal one's cultivation base and aura. It was an exceedingly rare secret technique.

Compared to the Light-Condensing Jade, the price of this art was considerably higher, requiring ten thousand Immortal Source to purchase a single scroll.

Of course, the high price had its reason. The Violet Mystery Path Master had infused his own insights into the Heaven-Deceiving Secret Art into the scroll. An ordinary Earth Immortal Patriarch [a patriarch who has reached the Earth Immortal stage] could master it swiftly with just a little contemplation.

For Eldrin Chen, ten thousand Immortal Source was not an exorbitant sum. He purchased six copies in one breath and handed them to Exquisite Jiang and the others.

However, ordinary Immortal [a being who has ascended to immortality through cultivation] are often reluctant to part with such a sum. They merely spent a thousand Immortal Source [a high-purity crystal containing concentrated immortal energy] to purchase a single Light-Condensing Jade [a jade artifact that gathers and focuses ambient light energy].

The combined cost of a passage ticket and one Light-Condensing Jade amounted to a full two thousand Immortal Source, a price sufficient to acquire two High-Grade Immortal Treasure [a powerful enchanted artifact forged by or for immortals].

This price was exorbitantly high, beyond the means of over seventy percent of Immortal. The more than one thousand Immortal present were all at the Late Ascendant Immortal Realm [the advanced stage of the first major immortal realm] and, for the most part, were top-tier Immortal of extraordinary capability and formidable lethality.

Even so, parting with two thousand Immortal Source in one go had left the majority of the Immortal present financially drained, their resources severely depleted.

Once the transactions for the passage tickets and the secret jade magical treasure [an enchanted artifact used by cultivators] were complete, the Violet Mystery Path Master could not help but reveal a faint smile.

This sale of the secret technique and the passage tickets had netted him over two million Immortal Source, a sum whose value was enough to purchase two High-Grade World-Opening Treasure [a supreme treasure capable of assisting in or symbolizing the creation of a new world or realm].

To acquire such resources as a mere side venture, without incurring any karmic backlash, was considered a rather profitable deal even for the Violet Mystery Path Master.

The sole concern was the peril inherent in journeying to the Nether Abyss Purgatory Sea [a legendary and dangerous sea located in the nether realms]. Not even the Violet Mystery Path Master could guarantee his own safe return.

Yet, given his current level of power, if he focused solely on fleeing from danger, unless a Celestial Immortal Great Power [a mighty being who has ascended to the celestial immortal realm] personally intervened, even an ordinary Half-Step Celestial Immortal [a cultivator on the very cusp of breaking through to the celestial immortal realm] would find it exceedingly difficult to slay him.

"Yet, of these Immortal, I wonder how many will ultimately achieve their desires and return?"

Violet Mystery Patriarch murmured inwardly, then finally shook his head.

Historically, of the Immortal [a being who has transcended mortality through cultivation] who ventured into the Nether Abyss Purgatory Sea, fewer than half ever returned alive.

With this thought, Violet Mystery Path Master said no more. He simply flicked his sleeve and declared, "Since everyone is assembled, let us depart at once."

As his words fell, Violet Mystery Path Master led the group onward, arriving upon a magnificent ancient vessel.

The Heaven-Escaping Ancient Ship was an Eighth Rank High-Grade [a classification denoting a very high level of power and refinement] ancient ship, forged from the Dragon Bone [bones of a dragon, imbued with immense spiritual power] of a top-tier World-Opening Ancient Beast [a primordial beast of legendary power]. When propelled by Violet Mystery Path Master, it could even withstand attacks at the Half-Step Celestial Immortal [a realm just below that of a true Celestial Immortal] level.

The group boarded the Heaven-Escaping Ancient Ship, and without delay, Violet Mystery Path Master set the ancient vessel in motion, steering it towards the Netherworld [the realm of the dead and dark spirits].

Soon, the ancient ship traversed the boundless heavens and earth, arriving at the Boundary of Solar and Lunar Polarity.

They journeyed through the Boundary of Solar and Lunar Polarity for a long while, soon reaching a region that demarcated the Polarity [the fundamental duality of cosmic forces, such as Yang and Yin]. Violet Mystery Path Master then cautioned, "Ahead lies the Myriad Crow Forbidden Land. Everyone, remember to proceed with utmost caution."

"The Myriad Crow Forbidden Land,"

Upon hearing this, Eldrin Chen could not help but recall the origins of this Myriad Crow Forbidden Land.

Legend holds that long before the Boundless Kalpa Tribulation [an immense cosmic cycle of destruction and rebirth], when Great God Vast Azure still lived, he once held awe-inspiring power across the Three Thousand Immortal Domains, a renowned Primordial Era Divine Spirit [a deity born in the earliest epochs of creation].

In that age, Great God Vast Azure served as a Divine Lord [a high-ranking deity] within the Primordial Era Divine Court [the celestial court of the primordial era]. He once clashed across the Boundless Chaos [the formless, primordial state before ordered reality], his campaigns etched into the ancient annals of that chaotic expanse.

He had slain Chaos Demon Gods [demonic entities born from primordial disorder] and felled Myriad Heavens Heavenly God Spirits [celestial deities from countless realms], standing as a rare and peerless powerhouse even in that Antiquity-Tracing [era of tracing back to antiquity] age.

Alas, during the Late Primordial Era, a World-Shaking Great War erupted, its tremors shaking the very foundations of Boundless Chaos. Of the three Divine Sovereigns [supreme divine rulers] presiding over the Divine Court at that time, Primordial Beginning and the Purple Tenuity Divine Sovereign both fell into deep slumber.

Not long after, the Solar Divine Sovereign severed ties with the Primordial Era Divine Court and founded the Ancient Demon Court, definitively ending the era of the Primordial Era Divine Court's Sovereign [supreme] dominion over heaven and earth.

The Primordial Era Divine Court had reached its zenith only to decline. Great God Vast Azure seemingly perished in that cataclysmic conflict, vanishing into the depths of Boundless Chaos.

And before his fall, it is said Great God Vast Azure slew numerous earth-shattering, peerless powerhouses.

The primordial essences, treasures, and remains of these fallen titans were cast into the Vast Azure Immortal Domain. Left unpurified and untamed, they eventually transformed into the various Forbidden Lands [dangerous, restricted regions imbued with ancient power] that scar the Vast Azure Immortal Domain.

The Myriad Crow Forbidden Land is one such place. Legend claims it formed from the corpse of a supreme existence at the Ancient Immortal Realm [the realm of ancient immortals].

Others whisper it is the remnant of a shattered Innate Spiritual Treasure [a treasure born from the primordial chaos, possessing innate spiritual power], which fell into the Vast Azure Immortal Domain and gradually took its current form.

Due to its origins being lost in the mists of time, the Celestial Immortal Great Powers of the Vast Azure Immortal Domain do not fully comprehend its true nature or provenance.

Yet, it is an undeniable truth that this place is a supreme Forbidden Land [a region of profound mystery and immense danger, often inaccessible or perilous to enter].

It is said this land can sever the Heavenly Path Will [the inscrutable will or design of the cosmos], ranking it among the most unfathomable and impossible-to-divine Forbidden Lands in all creation.

Within its bounds dwell two mysterious avian demon beasts. One is called the Fire Crow, also known as the Solar Crow, which inhabits the yang [the bright, active, solar principle] side of the Myriad Crow Forbidden Land.

The other is named the Nether Crow, also called the Lunar Crow, which resides on the yin [the dark, passive, lunar principle] side of the Myriad Crow Forbidden Land, in the region where the Netherworld Hell [a realm of the dead and damned] is located.