Chapter 1864 : Echoes of a Stellar Abyss

Having glimpsed the true state of the Great Cosmos, Eldrin Chen could not help but feel a profound sense of reflection within his heart.

He said nothing more. After conversing with the consciousness of the Great Cosmos for a short while, he stepped away from that place and made his way towards the Violet Boundary.

With a single stride, he traversed the boundless starry Ronan [a vast, interconnected network of celestial rivers and star clusters] and appeared before a vast stellar abyss.

It was a magnificent stellar abyss, formed from the convergence of countless resplendent stars, creating an intangible field that veiled everything within.

"The Profound Bright Star Abyss,"

Eldrin Chen uttered softly. After so many years, seeing the Profound Bright Star Abyss once more stirred an even deeper well of emotion within him.

With but a glance, he comprehended the origin and the karmic threads of the Profound Bright Star Abyss.

This Profound Bright Star Abyss was originally the Innate Companion Spiritual Treasure [a supreme treasure born alongside a primordial being, sharing its destiny] of the Profound Bright Star Deity [a primordial stellar divinity], which was still gestating within the endless dimensional starry Ronan.

The status of that Profound Bright Star Deity was exceedingly noble. It was originally destined to be a being of innate divinity; once its gestation was complete, it could directly ascend to the realm of an Eight Tribulation Ancient Immortal [an Ancient Immortal who has survived eight Heavenly Tribulations], and taking the further step into the Grand Luo Golden Immortal [the Golden Immortal realm of the Grand Luo, a supreme state of existence] would not have posed a significant obstacle.

Alas, during the epochal battle when the Violet Immortal Lord achieved his Dao, he slew a supremely powerful Demonic Dao Emperor Lord. A single drop of that demonic blood splashed into the endless dimensions, corrupting the innate fortune of the Profound Bright Star Deity and causing its gestation to fail, transforming it instead into a Calamity Demon God [a Demon God born of calamity and corruption].

Thus, the Profound Bright Star Abyss [a celestial abyss of profound and brilliant starlight] became a pearl obscured by dust, its rank falling to that of an Acquired Treasure [a powerful magical artifact forged in the current era, inferior to an Innate Treasure].

Now that the Calamity Demon God [a deity-level entity of calamity and destruction from the demonic races] had been slain by Eldrin Chen, the demonic aura within the Profound Bright Star Abyss gradually dissipated, and its grade had already reached the threshold of an Innate Treasure [a primordial magical artifact born from the chaos of creation, possessing innate laws].

However, Eldrin Chen saw clearly that within the Profound Nether Star Abyss [the deep, nether region of the starry abyss], a single drop of demonic blood remained deeply entrenched, nearly impossible to completely grind away and eradicate.

"Such potent demonic blood. Though merely a single drop, it possesses a near-indestructible nature."

"That Demon God in life must have been a peerless fiend who cultivated an Indestructible Body [a legendary physical constitution renowned for its absolute resilience and near-immortality]."

Sensing the demonic blood within the Profound Bright Star Abyss, Eldrin Chen's brow furrowed slightly.

The master of this demonic blood had been far too powerful in life; with his current cultivation, it was exceedingly difficult to deal with this single drop.

Of course, it was not absolutely impossible. Once his cultivation advanced to the Great Luo Realm [the pinnacle realm of cultivation, representing supreme unity and transcendence], he could naturally grind it away by leveraging the Chaos Great Dao [the supreme Dao of Primordial Chaos, the fundamental law of creation].

Furthermore, techniques like the Primordial Chaos Grinding Mill [a supreme divine ability that mimics the grinding power of the primordial chaos] and the Pure Yang Heavenly Fire [a divine flame of utmost purity and yang energy, capable of purifying all corruption] also held the promise of gradually refining it.

Yet, doing so would likely damage the Dao patterns [the innate law inscriptions that grant power] of this Innate Spiritual Treasure [a sentient Innate Treasure with its own spiritual awareness], requiring an immense span of time for it to recover.

Considering this, Eldrin Chen mused thoughtfully, "Since Qiyuan, the Ancient Ancestor fused with the remnant soul-fragment of the Profound Bright Star Deity, this object can be considered the Ancestor's companion treasure from birth. If His Eminence successfully cultivates the Great Dao of the Sun, he might be able to gradually refine it using the power of the Solar True Fire."

Holding this thought, Eldrin Chen quickly set the notion aside.

With a single step, he traversed the Profound Bright Star Abyss and arrived just outside the Violet Boundary [a powerful spatial treasure that isolates and protects a realm].

"I have returned."

Gazing upon the Violet Boundary, Eldrin Chen allowed a faint smile to grace his lips as he spoke softly.

"*Hum*—"

Within the hazy barrier, sensing his familiar aura, the Violet Boundary parted, opening a rift in the void for him.

With a serene smile, Eldrin Chen stepped directly into the Violet Boundary, his form materializing as a man clad in robes white as snow.

This was Eldrin Chen's third descent to the Violet Boundary since his ascension to the Immortal Realm. Unlike the previous two visits, this time he entered the treasure's inner sanctum in his true, physical form.

Given his current level of cultivation, his true body entering the Violet Boundary was akin to compressing a cosmos into a single grain of sand. The slightest uncontrolled release of his power would be enough to shatter the entire Violet Boundary from within.

This is the effect of having cultivated a True Spirit Primordial Spirit [the highest form of spiritual essence, representing perfect self-mastery]. Since attaining his True Spirit Primordial Spirit, Eldrin Chen had gained complete dominion over his own power. Therefore, even his true form stepping into the Violet Boundary [a sentient world-treasure] would not cause the slightest damage to it.

"You have returned."

Noticing his return, the Heavenly Dao [the fundamental law and consciousness of the world] of the Violet Boundary spoke slowly, its voice carrying a rare note of warmth.

Eldrin Chen nodded slowly and said, "Our homeland has changed greatly over these years."

"Indeed. It is all thanks to your nourishment."

The Violet Heavenly Dao spoke unhurriedly, a trace of genuine emotion, a rarity, coloring its intent.

Over these past ten million years, as the Abyssal Immortal Alliance grew ever more powerful and the number of high-ranking Immortal [beings who have ascended beyond mortality] it birthed increased, the nourishment they provided to the Violet Boundary had also multiplied.

Although Eldrin Chen had not descended to the lower realm for many years, he had arranged for Lyra Jiang and others to do so, bringing down the resources and rare treasures that the Immortal of the Abyssal Immortal Alliance used to nourish the Violet Boundary.

Nourished by these Immortal, the Violet Boundary had grown increasingly vast and boundless. Within it now existed nine supreme-grade Blessed Lands [regions of exceptionally dense spiritual energy], capable of accommodating dozens of Half-Step Celestial Immortal [cultivators on the verge of celestial ascension] and hundreds upon hundreds of Earth Immortal [immortals anchored to the terrestrial realm] for their cultivation.

A world so expansive and magnificent naturally nurtured an ever-growing number of Immortal.

By now, the Violet Boundary [a vast, world-like magical treasure] sees at least one Immortal [a being who has ascended to the highest mortal cultivation realm] ascend to the Immortal World [the legendary realm of true immortals] every hundred years.

Eldrin Chen understood this well. Gazing upon the boundless grandeur of the Violet Boundary, he could not help but muse with feeling, "We were born from the Violet Boundary; it is only right that we nurture it in return."

He whispered these words softly, then took his leave of the Violet Boundary and stepped forth into the vast, desolate earth.

After so many years, he had returned to that desolate expanse. Walking on foot across the lands of the Eastern Wastes, he felt the changes wrought upon heaven and earth more keenly than ever.

The terrain and landscape of the present-day Violet Boundary had long since transformed utterly. The boundless marshes that once stretched for millions upon millions of Li-lengths [one Li-length equals five hundred meters] were gone, replaced by a fertile land of mortals known as the Abyssal Ruins Dao Domain [the Dao Domain ruled by the Abyssal Ruins Chen Clan].

The Abyssal Ruins Dao Domain was the Dao Domain of the Violet Boundary's premier sacred land, the Abyssal Ruins Chen Clan.

It encompassed billions of provinces, great and small, each one vast beyond measure. Across them stood countless Immortal Mountain [mountains imbued with immortal spiritual energy] and clusters of blessed lands. Most importantly, it was anchored by the Violet Boundary's number one Abyssal Ruins Blessed Land [a place of supreme spiritual fortune and power], which stabilized its destiny.

Of course, the Violet Boundary itself had long since been renamed the Abyssal Ruins World.

The legends of the Violet Immortal Lord [a title once held by Eldrin Chen] had, at some point unknown, faded into the currents of the River of Time and Space [the metaphysical flow governing time and space].

Whether it was the endless multitude of mortal beings or the Immortal who ascended anew, all knew only that tens of millions of years ago, the Abyssal Ruins World was merely a mundane Major World [a large, populated world within the cosmic hierarchy].

Later, when Eldrin, the Abyssal Emperor [a title signifying his dominion over the abyssal realms] attained the Immortal [a transcendent state of being beyond mortality] realm and became a hegemon in one corner of the Immortal Domain [the higher realm where Immortals reside], he nourished the Abyssal Ruins World [a lower world connected to the Immortal Domain] through a process of spiritual feedback, leading to its current magnificent and vast expanse.

To this day, with the deliberate secrecy maintained by the founding patriarchs of various factions within the Immortal Domain, even the vast majority of ascended Immortal have already forgotten the ancient designation of the Violet Boundary [a legendary magical treasure of immense power].

"It is perhaps for the best that they do not remember. For the Violet Boundary, this can be considered a form of protection."

Eldrin Chen spoke slowly, understanding that the Violet Boundary was connected to the Violet Immortal Lord [a legendary figure from ancient times]. Should its existence be exposed, even with his current cultivation level, he might not be able to safeguard it.

With these thoughts in mind, Eldrin Chen felt a stirring of interest towards the Chen Clan of the Violet Boundary. He stepped forward and ascended Verdant Chariot Mountain [a sacred mountain peak].

Over the countless millennia, Verdant Chariot Mountain had transformed from a second-grade spiritual peak into a rare and peerless Immortal Mountain [a mountain suffused with immortal-grade spiritual energy], a change that had occurred almost imperceptibly.

It was one of the nine supreme blessed lands within the Violet Boundary and one of the three such lands that the Chen Clan of the Immortal Domain had invested vast resources into cultivating within the lower world.

Upon Verdant Chariot Mountain, Eldrin Chen sensed several dozen powerful auras, none of them weak. Among them, one aura stood out as exceptionally formidable, its cultivation base having truly reached the Half-Step Celestial Immortal [a quasi-immortal state just below the true Celestial Immortal realm] realm.

"Aethelred Chen."

Eldrin Chen was mildly surprised. This Half-Step Celestial Immortal turned out to be none other than the Turtle Immortal [a title denoting longevity and steadfastness] of the Chen Immortal Clan, Aethelred Chen.

Contemplating this, Eldrin Chen could not help but perform a quick divination with his fingers, a wry smile inevitably spreading across his face.

It turned out that after Aethelred Chen ascended to the Immortal Domain [the higher realm where immortals reside], his cultivation, built upon a foundation of three Ascending Immortal [the initial stage of true immortality] realms, progressed with remarkable smoothness. Not only did he break through to the Earth Immortal Realm [the realm of an Earth Immortal, a powerful terrestrial deity], he even managed to open a full Ninth Heaven [the highest and most profound of the nine celestial heavens within a cultivator's dantian].

Such an individual should have been a pillar of the clan, a key candidate nurtured as a true seed for the Heavenly Immortal Paragon [a supreme Heavenly Immortal, a celestial sovereign].

However, Aethelred Chen's temperament was far too cautious, living up to his moniker, the Turtle Immortal [the Immortal Turtle, a title denoting extreme caution and longevity]. From the early Ascending Immortal stage all the way to the Earth Immortal Great Perfection [the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal realm], despite having opened the Ninth Heaven, he never once ventured a single step beyond the borders of the Chen Immortal Clan territories.

He cultivated within the Vast Azure Immortal Domain for millions of years. Forget about leaving the Abyssal Ruins Celestial Domain to travel; he rarely even stepped out of the Abyssal Grotto-Heaven [his personal pocket dimension paradise].

The farthest place he ever visited was actually the Violet Profound Grotto-Heaven, one of the nine great Grotto-Heaven [celestial paradises] of the Abyssal Immortal Alliance.

That someone so exceedingly cautious could cultivate all the way to the Earth Immortal Great Perfection left the clan's higher-ups both amused and exasperated. Lior Chen and Ethan Chen, in particular, were frustrated, feeling he was like iron that refused to become steel.

It so happened that a great turmoil erupted in the lower realm branch of the Chen Immortal Clan at that time. That particular branch had grown arrogant and domineering, provoking the wrath of all the major immortal clans within the Violet Boundary [a vast region or domain], ultimately alarming ancestral masters like the Lord of the Dao Palace and other Celestial Immortal [a higher tier of immortal beyond Earth Immortal] patriarchs. The matter was brought before the venerable ancestors of the main Chen Immortal Clan.

On that occasion, it is said that the righteous and intolerant Ethan Chen personally issued the order. Dozens of Chen Clan Immortal [cultivators who have achieved immortality] were expelled from the clan and cast into the cycle of reincarnation, with several thousand more immortals implicated and punished.

Seizing this opportunity, the clan finally managed to send this Turtle Immortal down to the lower realms.

As Aethelred Chen himself put it, his cultivation was merely at the Earth Immortal Great Perfection realm. With such strength, venturing into the Vast Azure Immortal Domain was far too perilous. He felt not a shred of security unless he reached the Ancient Immortal Realm.

After deliberation, the clan's high elders decided to grant his wish. They sent him down to the mortal world to reign as a sovereign, establishing order and managing the affairs of the clan's branches there.

"That boy."

Understanding the cause and effect, Eldrin Chen could not help but let out a bitter chuckle.

It turned out all this had transpired over three million years prior. However, Eldrin Chen had been exploring the Chaos at the time. Furthermore, the clan members were unwilling to disturb his cultivation, so they had never informed him of these events.

With this thought, Eldrin Chen materialized his form and ascended to the peak of Verdant Chariot Mountain.

"Who goes there?"

The moment his presence manifested, Aethelred Chen finally sensed his aura and issued a sharp, questioning call.

Yet, upon recognizing Eldrin Chen, he immediately bowed with profound reverence. "This junior, Aethelred Chen, pays his respects to the Progenitor Ancestor."

"Turtle Immortal, have you suffered any grievances in the mortal world?"

Eldrin Chen looked at him and, with a flick of his sleeve, gently raised him to his feet.

Aethelred Chen was startled inwardly and hurriedly spoke: "To serve the clan is my duty. A little grievance is nothing."

"Is that so?"

Eldrin Chen's eyes held a meaningful glint as he said with a faint, knowing smile, "Yet how is it I heard that when you first descended to the lower realm, your very first words were: 'Violet Boundary, your grandpa is back!'?"

"And those Immortals [beings who have ascended to immortality through cultivation] from your era, they curse you behind your back, saying that once again you, the turtle who hides in its shell, got your wish, descending to squat in the latrine without ever relieving yourself."

Aethelred Chen listened, a cold sweat breaking out on his brow. He offered an awkward smile, momentarily at a loss for words.

Eldrin Chen gave a light chuckle but did not press the matter further.

Instead, he lifted his gaze towards the distant Verdant Chariot Mountain [a sacred mountain named for its verdant peaks and legendary chariot]. At the mountain's base, he saw a staircase of pure white jade, meticulously constructed from polished blocks and inscribed with countless intricate Immortal Dao Runes [mystical symbols containing the principles and power of the Immortal Path].

"The Heart-Questioning Stairway,"

Eldrin Chen uttered, a note of surprise in his voice.

Aethelred Chen seized the opportunity and promptly added, "This is a Heart-Questioning Stairway [a mystical staircase that tests the heart and soul] I forged. It can interrogate a cultivator's mind and spirit."

"Any practitioner with wicked intentions or an impure heart will be unable to walk more than one hundred steps upon it before attracting heavenly lightning to strike them down."

"Over the years, I have established a rule: all Immortal [a cultivator who has achieved immortality] of the Chen Clan within the Violet Boundary must walk this Heart-Questioning Stairway once every ten thousand years. Those who fail are ordered to repent. Those who fail three times, or whose wicked thoughts are severe, are directly expelled from the clan."

Eldrin Chen nodded upon hearing this and said, "You have been thoughtful."

"This junior's creation is merely inspired by the Ancestor's Five Heavenly Inquiries [a divine technique of fivefold heavenly interrogation]. It is nothing remarkable."

Aethelred Chen spoke modestly, then continued, "I long ago decreed that a Heart-Questioning Stairway be erected upon every spiritual mountain of the fourth rank or higher belonging to the Chen Clan."

"Their grades vary, but the lowest among them is a Heart-Questioning Stairway of the Golden Core realm, sufficient to test all cultivators below that stage."

"Over these years, thanks to these stairways, the moral character of our clan has improved a hundredfold compared to a million years ago."

Hearing this, Eldrin Chen gave a slight, approving nod.

He sighed and then spoke, "We Immortal undertake closed-door cultivation for millennia, for ten thousand years, or even for a million years at a time. In the future, should we break through to the Great Luo Realm [the Great Luo, a supreme realm of cultivation], it will be impossible to waste our minds on trivial matters."

"In many matters, it is impossible for us to attend to every detail. Therefore, we may not have sufficient deterrent power over clan members below the Ascending Immortal realm. This Heart-Questioning Stairway [a magical staircase that tests the purity of one's heart and intentions] is indeed an excellent method for purifying and upholding the family's traditions."

"Since you are now in charge of the family in the lower realm, remember to be clear and fair in both rewards and punishments. Once there are black sheep within the clan who harm the collective, you must punish them severely without leniency."

Receiving Eldrin Chen's approval, Aethelred Chen could not help but let out a sigh of relief.

He was born as the direct descendant of a Primordial Spirit [the spiritual core and highest essence of a cultivator] Immortal Clan, witnessing the family's growth every step of the way, yet he had never truly experienced the brutal crucible of a desperate, large-scale war.

Even though he had now cultivated to the Half-Step Celestial Immortal realm, his primary principle remained one of caution and survival above all else.

To him, compared to the Immortal Domain [the primary realm of the Immortals, vast and filled with both opportunity and peril] with its immense dangers, the safety level of the Violet Boundary [a vast, protected pocket dimension or realm] was easily a hundred times greater.

After all, with his level of cultivation, he was nearly invincible within the Violet Boundary, and even if a great celestial calamity erupted outside its borders, it would struggle to bring him true catastrophe.

Even if an undefeatable foe appeared, he could always call for reinforcements from the family in the Immortal Domain. One could say that within the Violet Boundary, his life was one of unparalleled comfort and security.

This time, meeting Eldrin Chen, his greatest fear was that the Ancestor, seeing his exceptional talent, would insist on taking him back to the Immortal Domain for cultivation.

Now, hearing Eldrin Chen acknowledge his conditions, he sighed in relief and said, "You honor me too much, Ancestor. Since I am the Clan Patriarch of the Chen Clan in the lower realm, I will naturally devote myself entirely to upholding the Chen family's traditions."

"You, lad, truly are a tortoise [a metaphor for someone extremely cautious and slow-moving]."

Eldrin Chen let out a derisive snort, then sighed. "I've seen it now. You are a man of hidden splendor, one who accumulates strength in silence before a magnificent release."

"From now on, cultivate diligently in the lower realm. Given enough time, you might even forge the Triple Taiyi Foundation [a legendary and supremely stable foundation for future cultivation], and there might even be a sliver of a chance for you to step into the Forbidden Domain [a mythical realm of power beyond conventional cultivation limits]."