The Fate of Eternal Life

Chapter 211 The Shadow of the Chaotic Ancient Era

The underworld is vast and boundless, like another universe.

One after another, towering demonic mountains, countless mass graves, and numerous tombstones stood amidst the black earth, where plumes of black mist rose, inspiring fear in all who beheld them.

"I never imagined that one day I would be able to visit this underworld," the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon exclaimed. "When I get out, I will write a book like the ancients, and call it 'Travels in the Underworld'."

They have been in the underworld for several months, constantly on the move, engaging in frequent bloody battles, witnessing many bizarre and wonderful things, and learning many unknown secrets.

boom!
Suddenly, a gigantic, pale hand descended from the dark clouds, its eerie aura obscuring the sky and the sun, as it slammed down.

"Damn it, they're catching up again!" the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon cursed.

Half a month ago, they discovered a tens of thousands-year-old Netherworld Flower in the Netherworld, expecting a chaotic battle among a group of ghosts, but unexpectedly, an ancient corpse at the peak of the Saint King realm escaped.

This ancient corpse, whose origins are unknown, survived a life-and-death cycle without collapsing on the spot. After escaping, it followed us relentlessly, launching occasional sneak attacks and causing quite a commotion along the way.

"Roar!"

As expected, this palm strike triggered a reaction from countless ghosts in the underworld, who awoke one after another, their roars echoing throughout the land.

brush!
A flying yaksha burst forth from the underworld, wielding a mourning staff, and greedily eyed Ning Qingyi and the nine-tailed crocodile dragon.

It had a blue face and fangs, and its cultivation had also reached the Saint King realm. Its body was covered with heavy Yin energy, supporting one ball after another of Netherfire.

Not only it, but also a host of ancient corpses, each incredibly powerful, charged forward, intent on tearing the man and beast apart.

As living beings, their presence was too conspicuous in the underworld. If they were exposed even slightly, they would attract the attention of all beings in the underworld, who would want to devour them alive and taste their flesh and blood.

Ning Qingyi let out a loud shout, unleashing a devastating Cycle of Life and Death that shattered everything. Yakshas and zombies vanished, leaving only wisps of dust.

"what!"

Suddenly, he paused softly and noticed a large crack.

The crack was several thousand feet long and only a few dozen feet wide, as if someone had poked a small hole in this dark and desolate land, from which endless death energy from the netherworld emerged. The flying yaksha that had just emerged from it was from this crack.

"My lord, are we going there?"

A glint flashed in the eyes of the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon as it looked at the narrow crack, feeling a chill run down its spine. It knew that Ning Qingyi had ventured deep into the Netherworld to find a unique location for her rebirth.

"Let's go take a look." Ning Qing glanced behind her.

The Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon nodded and rushed into the large crevice. The two figures disappeared into the thick Netherworld Mist.

After a long while, an ancient corpse appeared beside the great fissure, draped in extremely ancient clothing of unknown age. It lingered outside the fissure, hesitant and uncertain, clearly unsure whether to follow.

"Roar!"

It suddenly roared and rushed into the distance, disappearing from the spot.

Within the crevice, the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon slowly burrowed deeper, carrying Ning Qingyi with it.

For ordinary people, a thousand-foot-wide rift is too vast, but for great cultivators like them, a single sweep of their divine sense is enough to make it clear.

The crack appears to have appeared after a major battle. The sides of the crack are somewhat "smooth," with the rocks and soil on both sides forming complete cross-sections without any overly protruding parts. Even the corpses buried in the soil are mostly in half.

Savage beasts, humans, giants, ancient races... the deeper you go, the older the corpses become, making you wonder if this is another massive burial pit.

Both were extremely cautious as they descended along a stretch of greyish-white rock. Their experiences over the past few months had instilled in them a deep reverence for this underworld. There had been rumors that the underworld was a manifestation of the human world, just as vast, and now it seemed those rumors were true.

Hundreds of feet, thousands of feet, tens of thousands of feet... It didn't know how many feet it had dived down, but it never reached the bottom. Until a certain moment, when the gray rocks beside it were about to disappear, the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon suddenly stopped and couldn't help but tremble.

"@##￥%@, this scared me to death."

Ning Qingyi's pupils contracted, and he was speechless.

On one side of the crack, the grayish-white rock finally ended, and the bottom section was fully revealed to the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon. Although it was not complete, it was crystal clear to both him and the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon.

At the base of this gray rock is half a dragon's skull, while the long, grayish-white rock is the dragon's spine.

Ning Qingyi's expression was solemn. They had descended to a distance of at least a million feet. If that was the case, then if this dragon beast was still alive, it would definitely have a body that was more than 100,000 feet long.

What kind of dragon beast could possess such a powerful physical body?!

It must be a real dragon!
Even Ning Qingyi, with the Gate of Immortality and the Lesser Destiny Technique, felt a chill run down his spine, marveling at the eeriness of the Underworld: "Keep going, but be careful."

The Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon calmed its mind and descended at an even slower pace than before. During this time, they encountered strange beasts such as Ghost Apes and Divine Ants, all of which were extremely ferocious. In the human world, these would be monsters that could only have evolved in extremely dangerous places.

At the same time, they also discovered several acupoints leading to unknown distant places, where they encountered strange creatures. Therefore, they retreated with extreme caution, intending to stick to one path to the end.

One day, three days, five days... ten days later, the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon was finally close to reaching the bottom.

Because the crack on both sides has clearly shrunk from several thousand feet to several hundred feet, and it is closing at an extremely fast rate.

The nine-tailed crocodile dragon became increasingly cautious as it flew, and finally, after another day of flying, they reached the bottom.

"This...this is!"

At the end of the crack was a corpse impaled by a battle sword. There was no flesh or blood, only a golden skeleton, with colorful bone beads scattered around it.

Ning Qingyi also gasped: "Buddhist Golden Body Technique!"

It's hard to imagine how long this corpse had been lying here, or who it was in life. The only thing we know is that the sword that killed this corpse was of extraordinary origin.

It was forged entirely from celestial gold, and was very dull, exuding a sense of vicissitude and antiquity. It had celestial divine patterns on it, but at this moment it had no divine power, as if everything on the sword was painted on.

"The Azure Gold Sword of Ascension! Could this be an Emperor-level weapon?!" The Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon revealed a shocked expression.

Ning Qingyi's expression turned solemn. When he passed by the great rift, he felt a faint fluctuation calling to him, but he never expected it to be this scene.

He examined it from a great distance with his Origin Heaven Divine Eye, but he couldn't see a single trace of Dao. It was as if it were a cave where a mortal had passed away, and he couldn't see anything unusual.

Suddenly, Ning Qingyi had a thought and looked up at the crack above, realizing what was happening.

"Tell me, doesn't this crack look like it was left behind after someone killed it with a single sword strike?"

"Someone pierced through millions of feet of Netherworld soil and killed this Buddhist cultivator?" Upon hearing this, the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon felt a chill run down its spine: "Could it be some ancient emperor from the distant past who did such a thing!?"

"No! Impossible! Wasn't Buddhism founded by the Great Emperor Amitabha? The traces here are at least millions of years old!" The Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon seemed to have grasped a blind spot. If this Feathered Azure Gold Divine Sword was truly wielded by a Great Emperor, then the only one who would treat it with such solemnity is likely also a Supreme-level figure.

“Buddhism was not founded by Amitabha Buddha Emperor, or rather, Buddhism in this era was founded by Amitabha Buddha Emperor.” Ning Qingyi calmly shook his head: “Buddhist cultivators were already present during the mythological era. It is an ancient tradition with traces of it even in the Immortal Ancient Era.”

"What!" The Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon was shocked. He had long known that his master had an extraordinary background and knew many secrets, but he never expected that a casual remark could reveal such a big secret: "Then why is it widely believed in the world that the Amitabha Buddha Emperor was the founder of Buddhism?"

“It’s because he’s the only one who has attained enlightenment,” Ning Qingyi said calmly. “The Buddhist lineage I possess does not come from his lineage.”

It's strange that only one Buddhist emperor succeeded in attaining enlightenment across the three eras of mythology, primordial antiquity, and desolate antiquity. Even though Buddhism declined during the Immortal Antiquity and Chaotic Antiquity eras, only one emperor-level figure emerged across these three eras.

unless……

Ning Qing thought about the origin of the Secret Realm Technique and began to have some doubts.

The Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon barely managed to calm itself down: "So that means the person who died here wasn't a Supreme-level figure, and this sword couldn't possibly be an Emperor-level weapon?"

Ning Qingyi did not answer, but looked ahead cautiously and said, "Let's go. This place is ominous. Let's slowly walk back."

The Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon nodded, without the slightest difficulty. Everything here was too strange. Being able to walk out alive and well, with all its whiskers intact, would be a victory.

The thought of that dragon beast, which was hundreds of thousands of feet long, made his scalp tingle.

It slowly retreated, wary of possible sneak attacks from all sides.

"Amitabha……"

Suddenly, he heard a barely audible Buddhist chant, and his expression turned horrified.

"I think I heard a Buddhist chant, my lord, it wasn't you who chanted it, was it?" the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon asked tremblingly, feeling as if he were living a life worse than death.

Ning Qingyi stared down, a cold smile playing on his lips: "Playing tricks? Fine, keep retreating. It's sealed by the Azure Gold Sword of Ascension and can't cause any trouble. Even if it could, after being suppressed for so long, it wouldn't be a match for the two of us Saints."

Upon hearing this, the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon felt a surge of confidence. Others might not know, but did he not know just how formidable his master was?
He pierced through nine Emperor Shadows head-on, slaughtered a Great Sage at the Saint Realm, a ruthless person among ruthless people, a monster among monsters. Even if this golden skeleton below could come back to life, it might not be a match for the Master!
As the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon rapidly ascended, the scene at the bottom of the crevice became increasingly blurred until it was completely obscured, at which point an even more intense Buddhist chant resounded.

"Amitabha!"

The entire crack began to tremble, and a magnificent Buddhist light spread out from below.

In an instant, the endless deathly aura deep within the crack was transformed, and the Netherworld seemed to become a Buddhist land, filled with great light and purity, dazzling and mesmerizing.

"Amitabha!"

Another Buddhist chant was uttered, and the terrifying power began to rise, causing the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon to change color in horror!

This is definitely not the realm of a saint; it is even more powerful than the might of a Great Saint. It is at least at the level of a Quasi-Emperor, and it is very likely to be the pressure of a legendary figure.

"Could it really be that a supreme Buddhist master was killed here?!" At this moment, the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon was truly terrified. As expected of the underworld, no one knows how many old men are buried here.

"Don't panic, he can't get out." Ning Qing's voice seemed to still allow her to see what was happening underground.

“Amitabha…Esteemed benefactors, may we stop here?”

The third Buddhist chant rang out, and at the same time, a faint voice entered the mind of the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon.

It stopped abruptly, because the sound wasn't coming from below, but from the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon itself.

The nine-tailed crocodile dragon was terrified. Suddenly, a shadow appeared on its back. It was weightless, like a phantom, yet as heavy as Mount Tai, pressing down on it so that it dared not move.

brush!
It let out a strange cry and shrank to the size of a palm, then perched on Ning Qingyi's shoulder, its whole body trembling, clearly terrified.

Ning Qingyi stared coldly at the shadowy figure before her.

It was dressed in a red kasaya, with an ancient and simple face, hands clasped together, and wearing a string of colorful Buddhist beads, like a shadow.

"May I ask, young friend, do you cultivate the invincible golden body of Buddhism?" This shadowy figure's words were a bombshell.

"You know this attack method?" Ning Qingyi was somewhat surprised: "Are you an ancient person buried in the mythical era or the chaotic ancient era?! You can't be from the Immortal Ancient Era, can you?!"

The Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon trembled, but not because of the secret, but because a battle sword was nailed to the old monk's forehead, splitting half of his face, and blood dripped down whenever he spoke, which was extremely horrifying.

Youying was taken aback, seemingly unable to process such a large amount of information in a young man. After a moment, he said, "This humble monk only knows about the Immortal Ancient and the Chaotic Ancient, but not about mythology."

Ning Qingyi was genuinely surprised and asked, "Have you ever heard of the Desolate Heaven Emperor?"

The shadowy figure pondered deeply: "The Desolate Heavenly Emperor..."

These three things clearly had a great impact on him, and the Shadow once again fell into deep thought, and the longer the time passed, the brighter the look in its eyes became.

“Desolate Heavenly Emperor… Heavenly Court… Otherworldly Realm…” One word after another leaked from its mouth. With each word it spoke, its body trembled a little more, and the battle sword on its head went deeper by an inch, almost piercing through its body.

"what!"

Suddenly, it roared wildly, barely able to maintain its form.

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill until all life is annihilated!" The shadowy figure roared in fury, clearly recalling something unpleasant: "Give me your golden body now, I'm going to conquer! I'm going to the Immortal Realm!"

The old monk went berserk and charged at Ning Qingyi.

Ning Qingyi looked at him coldly, showing no mercy. She used the Nine Harmonies Great Immortal Technique to summon the illusory sword image pinned to its forehead and gently pushed it forward.

Click!

In the cracked land that had long been invisible, the Azure Gold Sword seemed to sense something and moved forward as well.

In an instant, countless cracks covered the entire sword. At the same time, the old monk's golden Buddha bones also cracked open, and the boundless divine energy overwhelmed everything.

"what!"

At the same time, the shadowy creature seemed to be affected as well, vanishing into thin air in an instant.

This scene terrified the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon. It didn't even realize that Ning Qingyi had rushed back to the bottom of the crevice until he landed and picked up the relics.

“Relics…”

Ning Qingyi gently stroked it, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)