Nine Star Hegemon Body Art

Everyone hastily shut their mouths. The flying boat slowly descended. It was over three hundred meters long, and its entire body was golden. It appeared grand and luxurious, and countless formation runes shone brilliantly over its surface.

A red-robed, beautiful and graceful woman descended from the boat.

“Greetings, sect master!”

Including the vice sect master, everyone hastily bowed. Long Chen also awkwardly followed.

Ouyang Qiuyu nodded slightly. “All disciples can get on the boat now. The time is almost upon us.”

Long Chen and the others went in according to the vice sect master’s signal. Only once they got up did they realize just how luxurious this boat really was.

“It’s actually a Treasure item!” Guo Ran immediately recognized its level.

The top of the flying boat was very spacious, and there were many lavish decorations, some with tea and refreshments on them. It was extremely comfortable.

Furthermore, there was even a translucent barrier around the flying boat. Even when flying, they wouldn’t feel the slightest breeze. It was both cozy and safe.

The disciples found places for themselves to sit. They were all filled with reverence toward the fairy-like woman standing at the front of the boat. In fact, they almost didn’t even dare to raise their heads to look at her.

This was the Xuantian Dao Sect’s number one person. She was someone infinitely close to becoming a King, one of the apex figures in the entire Eastern Wastelands.

Once everyone was up, Ouyang Qiuyu activated the boat. It began to slowly soar into the air. Then, the boat trembled and shot forward, looking like a ray of light shooting through the air. The Xuantian Dao Sect rapidly shrank in their view until it disappeared in just a few breaths.

They were all startled by this speed. Furthermore, it was only getting faster.

“There’s no need to worry. It’ll take a few days for us to get to the gathering point. If you all start clamming up now, time will feel like it’s passing even slower.” Ouyang Qiuyu smiled at everyone amicably.

But no one dared to speak still, because they were all filled with reverence for her. No matter how brazen they were, they wouldn’t dare to be unbridled in front of the sect master.

Even Shui Guanzhi, Zhao Wuji, and the others were all extremely reserved now. In front of an apex figure of the Eastern Wastelands, they felt an immense amount of pressure.

As for Long Chen, he was nonchalant. He had already done something so embarrassing, so doing anything more wouldn’t really matter.

“Sect master, why do we need to use a flying boat instead of just using transportation formations?” asked Long Chen.

“Because the place we’re going to has three spatial storm zones between us. Space is very unstable there, and it’s impossible to create a transportation formation that can pass through them. We can only fly,” said Ouyang Qiuyu. She didn’t stand on courtesy. Just like that, she sat beside Long Chen, acting as natural as when she had eaten the fish with him.

However, Long Chen was clearly a bit unnatural. He fidgeted a bit and maintained a polite distance. The main thing was that the pressure was too great.

“Sis- cough, sect master, what do you mean by storm zones?” asked Tang Wan-er awkwardly. She had gotten too used to calling her sister.

“Junior sister Wan-er, junior sister Meng Qi, you can call me the same thing as you used to. I rather like that kind of appellation!” laughed Ouyang Qiuyu.

Everyone was startled. It was completely unexpected for Meng Qi and Tang Wan-er to actually know the sect master. Furthermore, they seemed very familiar with her.

The sect master had always been an extremely mysterious figure. Even their monastery heads hadn’t ever seen her.

“An immense, heaven-shaking battle was once fought in our world. That battle changed the very structure of the world, and the Martial Heaven Continent was split into five pieces. Those are the Eastern Wasteland, the Western Desert, the Southern Sea, the Northern Source, and the Central Plains,” said Ouyang Qiuyu.

Everyone was shocked. So the five regions weren’t natural, but the result of an immense battle. Then just what kind of shocking level had that battle reached?

“That battle happened so long ago that it’s almost impossible to trace back. The legends say it was a battle of gods, but as for how trustworthy legends are, it’s up to each person’s personal judgment. However, that battle was truly terrifying. It happened so long ago that no one can remember it, but there were many places where space was destroyed. 

“Although the world tries to recover, those old wounds left behind scars. As a result, there are many places in this world where space is too unstable to establish transportation formations,” explained Ouyang Qiuyu.

“Sect master, disciple doesn’t understand something,” said Zhong Wuyan suddenly.

“Go ahead.” Ouyang Qiuyu smiled with encouragement.

Seeing that Ouyang Qiuyu was so easy to talk to, Zhong Wuyan’s nervousness lessened a great deal. “I want to know, just what kind of world do we live in? What kind of existence is the Immemorial Path?”

Everyone else’s ears perked up. This was also something that they all wanted to know as well.

“In regards to the structure of the world, even I am not sure about many things. This world is three-dimensional, but it is also a flat plane. Perhaps saying it like this is difficult for you to understand, so I’ll put it another way.

“A transportation formation functions by folding space, making it so two spots connect, turning the distance between them to zero. But this is on the condition that space is stable, as well as finding the correct spatial node. If you want to know more about that, you would have to go find a Formation Master, and they would be able to give you a more detailed answer. Even my knowledge about it is limited.

“So, that is the explanation about how it is planar. But the world is also three-dimensional. Our world is surrounded by endless planar spaces as well. Perhaps that is too confusing.

“If I were to make an analogy, our world would be like a bubble, and there are also countless bubbles surrounding us. We’re all tightly bunched together. It is also similar to a honeycomb, but we are surrounded by more than just six worlds. So don’t think this is the only world out there.

“Furthermore, there are worlds beyond those outside worlds beside us. However, we are isolated by laws from those worlds, so we can’t see them.

“The reason I am telling you all this is because the Immemorial Path is different from those secret realms you know of. Secret realms are simply the remains of destroyed worlds that exist within the cracks of space. But the Immemorial Path is its own world, one on the same level as ours. 

“Rumor has it that the Immemorial Path is a trial left behind from the immortal era. The secrets of becoming an immortal or god are within it. However, that world was wrecked. The damage done to it was even greater than what was done to our world, and it almost completely collapsed.

“The laws within the Immemorial Path are incomplete. Once you enter, you may find that your power is sometimes restricted. But fortunately, the laws there are favorable to Celestials, and you’ll still be able to summon your Cries of the Heavenly Daos.”

Everyone turned to look at Long Chen. Shui Guanzhi and the others had an expression of delight.

Ridicule surfaced in Long Chen’s heart. These were his companions? Seeing others at an advantage, they were jealous; seeing others at a disadvantage, they laughed?

Suddenly, the flying boat began to rock. Countless runes lit up to form layers of light. The sky turned dark, startling everyone.

Ouyang Qiuyu said, “Don’t be afraid. This is the first storm zone. Space here is incomplete, and we can only barge our way through. We’ll be through momentarily.”

Although Ouyang Qiuyu comforted them, people were still a bit afraid. They were suddenly unable to see anything outside the boat. It was like they had been devoured by darkness.

Furthermore, the flying boat was rocking intensely, and the barriers of light were also shaking. It seemed as if they might break at any moment.

However, the darkness didn’t last for long before they once more saw the light.

Suddenly, people heard a loud grumbling sound. They hastily turned toward the source to see Wilde snoring in his chair.

They couldn’t help being speechless. Just how confident did he have to be to sleep here?

“Sorry, Wilde’s been extremely tired lately, so he needs to catch up on his sleep,” apologized Long Chen to Ouyang Qiuyu.

After all, it really was impolite for him to sleep right in front of the sect master. But Long Chen knew that this was Wilde’s way of preserving his energy.

Furthermore, Wilde had been alone and suffering for so long. His heart was weary. Having found everyone, his nerves instantly relaxed. He needed some time.

Ouyang Qiuyu merely smiled slightly and expressed that she was fine with it. When her gaze swept over Wilde, shock flickered in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything.

Retracting her gaze from Wilde, she told everyone, “You’re the geniuses of our Xuantian Dao Sect. You have your own personalities and opinions. Although I hope for you to be united, that’s not really plausible, so I can’t be bothered to waste the effort.

“I’ll just warn you this once. Once you enter the Immemorial Path, no matter who you are, your chances of surviving will definitely not be greater than fifty percent. This has nothing to do with cultivation base. In fact, stronger experts generally have higher mortality rates.”

“What…? Why?” 

“Because the stronger you are, the more things you’ll be able to see within the Immemorial Path, things that others don’t even have the qualifications to see. The principle is very simple: those who drown are people who know how to swim.

“On the one hand, because they are strong, they get conceited and challenge more difficult things. On the other hand, stronger people are more likely to run into stronger existences. And stronger existences cannot be beaten with just luck. So the stronger you are, the more likely you’ll fall,” said Ouyang Qiuyu.

Everyone nodded. High risk was accompanied by high rewards. And if you misjudged your abilities, that risk might take your life.

“To sum up, no matter what opportunities you run into inside, don’t think about how you’re going to obtain it first, but think about whether you’ll have a life to enjoy it. Even if you obtain something, you might not have the power to keep it.

“That’s all I have to tell you. Cultivators are all gamblers. If you win, you can soar and continue to the next bet. If you lose, everything will be over. There will be no chance to make a comeback!” After saying that, Ouyang Qiuyu no longer said anything.

Everyone’s hearts became a bit heavy. However, Long Chen didn’t feel any pressure. Compared to luck, he was more confident in his strength.

Three days passed. The flying boat finally began to slow down, and a barren land appeared before them. That land was covered with countless experts.