Chapter 1250: Farewell, Spiritual Lord

My Master is in the Northern Nether Sea.

After hearing the giant beast's reply, Chen Mobai continued to ask how he could enter this Northern Nether Sea.

That place is a supreme realm, accessible only to beings summoned by my Master.

Chen Mobai felt a headache coming on. Clearly, this was within the Spirit Venerable's Dharma Realm.

Left with no choice, he inquired about the Spirit Venerable's arrival on this planet.

These intelligent giant beasts seemed quite simple-minded; they answered all his questions without reservation.

Since the Spirit Venerable's descent upon this planet, the Northern Nether Sea had encompassed everything. Afterward, the Spirit Venerable summoned these muddled beings, who only knew how to sleep and eat, teaching them methods to circulate vital energy and refine power, thus revealing to them the path to immortality.

The turning point occurred a century ago.

The Spirit Venerable ceased teaching, and all the beings, enveloped in a silver light, returned to their nests in the deep sea.

Since then, they had constantly wished to re-enter the Northern Nether Sea.

Unfortunately, they swam across the entire planet but found no trace of the Spirit Venerable, let alone the Northern Nether Sea.

Decades later, they all gave up, choosing to return to their nests to cultivate the methods taught by the Spirit Venerable, pursuing the path of immortality.

Until today, the aura emanating from the descending Zixiao Palace shook the heavens and earth. The Spirit Venerable had spoken of this during their teachings, indicating it was the best opportunity to find one's own path, so they had all rushed here.

After conversing with these disciples of the Spirit Venerable, Chen Mobai calculated the time and deduced it might be during the Immortal Sect's Calamity of the God of Death.

Could it be that the Spirit Venerable followed the white light to confront the true body of the God of Death?

Considering that the Spirit Venerable possessed two primordial spirits, it was possible one, the Heavenly Peng primordial spirit, was left on this planet. Then, because the God of Death's power was unexpectedly immense, the Spirit Venerable might have suffered severe injuries, causing issues with the Heavenly Peng primordial spirit here as well, forcing them to seal the Dharma Realm for healing.

After imagining this scenario, Chen Mobai found himself powerless in the current situation.

Subsequently, he dispatched his second primordial spirit, along with numerous void phantoms, to search for the legendary Northern Nether Sea across the planet. His true body, however, did not miss the rare opportunity presented by the Zixiao Palace.

On the platform in front of the gate, the materialized Innate Grand Dao this time was the Dao of Slaughter.

This was almost useless to Chen Mobai; however, if Bai Guang were here, she would gain immense benefits. After meditating on it for a while and finding no breakthrough, Chen Mobai chose to give up, instead focusing on consolidating and comprehending the grand daos he primarily cultivated.

In the Heavenly River Realm, to have such an opportunity, even the Nine Heavens Demonic-Slaying Grandmaster would have to wait for the Life-Death Disk to reassemble.

Yet, Chen Mobai could do so periodically.

In this universe, the difficulty of cultivating to the highest realm lies in whether there are available positions among the Grand Daos.

As time passed, what limited the progress of later cultivators, besides individual ability, was also the solidification of social strata.

Thinking of this, Chen Mobai felt a bit fortunate that when the Xuan Palace was annihilated, it took away many Pure Yang grand powers from this universe. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't even dare to dream of merging with the Dao through Sage Virtue.

Soon, the steps of the Three Thousand Grand Daos had all taken shape.

Above the sea, silence had already settled.

The Spirit Venerable's disciples had each claimed their territories, suppressing all commotion.

As the last step materialized in the deepest part of the seabed, Chen Mobai's second primordial spirit returned without success. He sighed, then guided the Spirit Venerable's disciples to ascend the Zixiao Palace one by one.

Just then, the entire planet suddenly trembled.

This tremor caused the previously subsided tsunami to surge forth again in an instant. However, just as it seemed about to calm down, the planet's trembling intensified.

It shook twice, then thrice, and then it was no longer a tremor but a violent quake.

Through his deep connection with the world, Chen Mobai felt the planet wailing, as if it were sick and in immense pain.

And just as Chen Mobai realized something, the resounding crack of the planet's crust reached his ears.

Crack!

Dense magma from the core erupted through the fractured cracks in the seabed, boiling the surrounding seawater. Gradually, bubbles and even steam began to appear on the surface of the sea.

Theoretically, with such a vast amount of seawater, even a massive undersea volcanic eruption could be easily extinguished and solidified.

However, what gushed from the crustal fissures, in addition to magma, were clusters of dark, black flames, carrying dense toxic gas, earthly qi, turbid qi, malevolent qi, and more.

These innate true heats, deposited deep within the core when the planet formed, were in a highly unstable state, transitioning from innate to acquired. If triggered, they could cause violent explosions, even directly destroying the planet and turning it into cosmic dust.

However, after a planet forms, as long as no external force triggers them, these innate true heats should theoretically be absorbed and suppressed by the core's primordial magnetism, never to surge forth.

And as time passes, the spiritual veins of many planets are formed as these innate true heats, under the rules of the Grand Dao, slowly transform into acquired energy, filtered by the earth, merging with the void, releasing and converting vast amounts of mild energy that can be absorbed by living beings, creating myriad wonders.

Once these are all released, it marks the time of a planet's decline.

The current situation clearly indicated a problem at the planet's core.

Upon realizing this, Chen Mobai immediately retracted his second primordial spirit, retreating to the entrance of the Zixiao Palace.

Although he didn't know what was happening, it was clear that this planet might explode.

Even with his level of cultivation, he could suffer severe injuries if he were careless in such a situation.

However, he soon thought of another point.

Was this related to the Spirit Venerable?

At the same time, Chen Mobai suddenly sensed a familiar Grand Dao fluctuation.

Within the fractured crust, a faint wisp of white light flickered, containing a true meaning of destruction that would make all living beings turn pale.

The Grand Dao of Destruction!

Seeing this, Chen Mobai's face was filled with pleasant surprise.

Who else could it be? It could only be his wife.

To his surprise, both the Spirit Venerable and Bai Guang were on this planet.

Thinking of this, Chen Mobai's heart filled with worry again. After all, his marital relationship with Bai Guang wasn't particularly affectionate, and they had some disagreements about the concept of family. He feared that they might start fighting upon meeting.

However, he figured that with the Spirit Venerable present, they would exercise some restraint.

At this thought, Chen Mobai tidied his appearance, pondering what opening words he should use when he met Bai Guang to prevent her from acting impulsively.

Moreover, just as he reached the very edge of the platform in front of the Zixiao Palace, gazing at the destructive white light seeping from the crustal fissures, a mournful bird cry rang out.

The crustal fissures seemed connected to a mysterious void. Under the impact of the destructive white light, they twisted and expanded, revealing another vast oceanic world.

In that world, the sky was filled with intersecting golden light, yet it could never completely engulf one particular area. Within that area, raging black flames burned, accompanied by faint wisps of white light. The combined gray-white glow from the two caused Chen Mobai's expression to change drastically.

He had seen this gray-white light before; it was not the destructive white light, but rather the Three-Eyed King's Dao-Breaking Divine Light.

What on earth was going on?

Amidst his shock and doubt, Chen Mobai noticed that as time passed, the space occupied by the golden light began to shrink, while the previously suppressed black flames and gray light continuously expanded.

However, due to his limited cultivation, he couldn't discern the essence of the golden light and black flames. He could only confirm that they were two Emptiness Refinement cultivators, and that the world was indeed the Spirit Venerable's Northern Nether Dharma Realm.

Chen Mobai immediately brought out his Haotian Mirror, hoping to use this sixth-tier magical artifact to see more clearly.

But at this moment, the black flames and gray light finally broke free from the constraining golden light that crisscrossed the sky, spreading out along the world fissure opened by the power of destruction.

The moment the black flames and gray light emerged, the entire planet began to wail, seeming as if it would disintegrate at any second.

Chen Mobai immediately retreated several steps, half a foot inside the threshold of the Zixiao Palace. However, his mind was still racing, trying to figure out how to help the Spirit Venerable suppress this powerful Emptiness Refinement enemy, who seemed to have grasped a hint of the true meaning of destruction.

Rumble!

After the black flames and gray light broke free from the Dharma Realm, the Spirit Venerable was completely at a disadvantage, no longer able to trap the opponent. Accompanied by an earth-shattering roar, the sky above the planet was covered in darkness. A slightly hunched figure, like an elongated shadow, emerged from the Dharma Realm's fissure.

Chen Mobai saw an old man holding a pitch-black banner in his left hand and a gray-white eyeball in his right, gazing coldly at the golden light within the Dharma Realm.

At this moment, Chen Mobai, utilizing the Haotian Mirror, also saw that the golden light was indeed the Spirit Venerable's Heavenly Peng primordial spirit.

Her expression was solemn; she seemed intent on closing the Dharma Realm.

However, the old man directly hurled the gray-white eyeball in his hand like a stone, blocking the torn opening of the Dharma Realm.

Under the compression of the Dharma Realm's power, the Dao of Ruin and destructive power hidden within the gray-white eyeball began to violently erupt, making the contracting and recovering Northern Nether Dharma Realm fissure even larger. Concurrently, the old man, still gripping the pole of the pitch-black banner, thrust it into the Dharma Realm from outside.

Chen Mobai naturally recognized that this gray-white eyeball was precisely the Eye of Ruin on the forehead of the Three-Eyed King, which had been dismembered by numerous hunters after he exposed its location.

And this old man, according to the video uploaded by Song Qingyi at the time, should be Dark Vortex, who cultivated the Grand Dao of Darkness. Although he was from the neighboring Ku Rong Dao field, he had stayed in the Xuan Palace for a long time. Even if he hadn't cultivated demonic arts, surviving there certainly meant he was a ruthless individual.

Chen Mobai could already see that Dark Vortex was using the Spirit Venerable's Dharma Realm power to fuse the Eye of Ruin and the pitch-black banner. If successful, it would likely become a terrifying magical artifact capable of unleashing destructive power.

Evidently, the Spirit Venerable also realized this, but by then, she was unable to close the Dharma Realm.

From the very beginning, when Dark Vortex arrived on this planet and she took action to draw him into her Dharma Realm, she had already fallen into his trap.

If the Spirit Venerable hadn't intervened, Dark Vortex wouldn't have been able to find the entrance to the Dharma Realm at all.

However, the Spirit Venerable was overly confident in her own Dharma Realm and couldn't bear to watch Dark Vortex sacrifice the planet's beings to refine his magical artifact. Therefore, upon sensing his arrival, she immediately moved to suppress him.

After suppressing him, the Spirit Venerable quickly realized she couldn't kill Dark Vortex. When she tried to expel him, she found she couldn't move him at all. Ultimately, he triggered the power of destruction, piercing through the Dharma Realm and causing the current situation.

Could it be that she would be refined by this demonic cultivator today!

Just as the Spirit Venerable felt her life was nearing its end, a familiar telepathic message sounded in her ear: "Senior, please ascend the Zixiao Palace..."

"Zixiao Palace?"

Upon hearing Chen Mobai's telepathic message, the Spirit Venerable was both surprised and delighted.

She hadn't expected that heaven would open a path for her; the Zixiao Palace had actually descended upon this planet at this very moment.

She didn't bother wondering why Chen Mobai was there. She immediately abandoned her Dharma Realm, which was already restrained by Dark Vortex's Grand Dao, and transformed into a streak of soaring golden light, arriving above the sea surface in an instant.

The Spirit Venerable's action caused Dark Vortex to slightly pause in surprise.

One must know that cultivating a Dharma Realm is exceptionally difficult and can only be achieved once.

However, for him, this was actually a good thing. After all, if the Spirit Venerable had resisted stubbornly, even if he could win, it would still take him hundreds of years to completely annihilate her while she was hidden within the Dharma Realm.

Soon, Dark Vortex understood why the Spirit Venerable had chosen to abandon her Dharma Realm.

The golden light surged out and landed on the steps of the Zixiao Palace, transforming into the slightly pale Spirit Venerable. She cast a glance at Dark Vortex, committing this grudge to memory.

"Zixiao Palace!"

Dark Vortex's eyes showed both shock and delight as he looked at the ancient, mysterious stone palace before him.

As an Emptiness Refinement cultivator, he naturally knew about this legendary place of Dao propagation left by Dao Venerable Zixiao. He divided his attention, manifesting a dark clone to continue refining the magical artifact, while his true body followed in the Spirit Venerable's footsteps, ascending the steps.

Seeing this, the Spirit Venerable's expression slightly changed.

Although she knew the rules of the Zixiao Palace—that no one could engage in combat—Dark Vortex's power was simply too immense. With his Grand Dao of Darkness at the peak of Emptiness Refinement, now even wielding ruin and destruction, he could essentially walk unhindered across the Zixiao Universe as long as True Immortal Dao Lords didn't appear.

The Spirit Venerable dared not linger. She ascended the steps, heading towards the Zixiao Palace at the end of the Three Thousand Grand Daos.

Dark Vortex, however, adopted a cat-and-mouse attitude, following closely behind the Spirit Venerable as she ascended step by step towards the sky.

Along the way, the giant beasts who had already reached the steps respectfully greeted the Spirit Venerable, addressing her as "Master."

However, the Spirit Venerable was not in the mood to return their greetings. Her expression was even one of worry; if Dark Vortex wasn't dealt with today, all the living beings on this planet would likely be sacrificed by him.

Soon, the Spirit Venerable and Dark Vortex, one after the other, passed all the beings on the steps and reached the very end.

They saw a handsome and refined young man standing there, his expression serene.

Upon seeing Chen Mobai, the Spirit Venerable's eyes showed a mix of surprise, joy, and worry. She was naturally happy to see an acquaintance, but the current situation was no time for catching up.

Dark Vortex, however, frowned. He assumed Chen Mobai was a native spirit beast from this planet who had taken human form and, due to extraordinary talent, had arrived before the Zixiao Palace.

But the next scene made Dark Vortex's eyes widen in disbelief.

The young man simply waved his sleeve, and the Spirit Venerable instantly vanished, apparently having been drawn into his sleeve. He then calmly glanced at Dark Vortex, turned, and stepped into the Zixiao Palace.

Dark Vortex immediately rushed in after him.

But he found the vast Zixiao Palace completely empty.