Chapter 253: The Past of the Imprint

Ying Wuxiu's words were like clouds parting to reveal the sun, sweeping away the layers of fog that had shrouded Li Shun's heart.

Combined with the many forbidden secrets he had previously learned from Ancient Net, he now had a clear understanding of Great Qian's current predicament.

“The Primordial Wilderness shattered, becoming the Primordial Desolate Domain of today. The countless worlds within it are like specks of dust. None of them have ever directly faced the invasion of the Chaos. Instead, they have clung desperately to life beneath the final vestiges of protection provided by the world's embryonic membrane.”

“However, after countless years have passed, the protective power of the world's embryonic membrane has long since become like a candle flickering in the wind. Meanwhile, the corrosion originating from the outer realms of Chaos has grown increasingly rampant.”

“The four great forbidden lands surrounding Great Qian are the concrete manifestations of this corrosion.”

…

As his thoughts turned, Li Shun could almost see the desolate scene of the Great Qian world drifting precariously within the Primordial Desolate Domain.

At that very moment, a violent tremor suddenly erupted deep within Li Shun's mind, as though a thousand-jun heavy hammer were pounding against it again and again.

At the same time, strange whispers surged into his ears like a tide.

Li Shun's heart tightened. He immediately severed his train of thought by force and cast aside all distracting thoughts.

Having experienced a similar scene before, he knew that learning more about the mysteries of the Chaos had once again attracted the gaze of the Chaos itself.

Fortunately, he had now advanced to the Grotto Mystic realm. Moreover, Ying Wuxiu's explanation this time had mainly concerned Great Qian and the Primordial Desolate Domain. Thus, the pressure from the Chaos remained within a controllable range.

After only a brief moment, Li Shun adapted to it.

The inexplicable sounds in his ears vanished at the same time.

Li Shun exhaled a breath of turbid air and once again focused his mind.

“Great Qian seems to have no particularly effective method of opening up new territory by annexing other worlds. It can only use the world itself as a bargaining chip, slowly shifting through the Desolate Domain, attempting to accomplish annexation through direct collisions between physical territories. However…”

Li Shun frowned.

Recalling his earlier conversation with Fei in the Martial Dao World, what the other party had done was completely different.

Those worlds raised like livestock were the spoils of the Yao World’s years of conquest and expansion.

“From Fei's few words, it isn't difficult to tell that the Yao World has long since become extremely adept at annexing other worlds. Even worlds that cannot be forcibly fused due to the separation of eras and differences in Heavenly Dao can be maintained through secret techniques and transformed into pastures that continuously nourish itself.”

At this thought, Li Shun could not help but feel his heart stir.

If Great Qian could master such a secret technique for annexing entire domains, its strength would surely soar. Why would it have to worry about being unable to expand its territory on a massive scale?

But Li Shun did not immediately probe Fei about it.

For one thing, this involved a transformation of worlds and was undoubtedly an ultimate-level secret. Fei was merely a lowly pasture keeper and might not know anything about it.

For another, there was something even more important that needed to be done.

After enduring a long journey, the phantom image of Shentu Xin had finally reached the edge of the Heavenly Dao Severance Sea and was about to truly enter the so-called [Primordial Desolate Domain].

The overwhelming sense of danger he had previously felt had made him stop in his tracks. But now that Li Shun had seen through the truth beyond the world, there was naturally no reason for him to retreat.

With a slight movement of his mind, his consciousness immediately focused upon the phantom image of Shentu Xin.

The Heavenly Dao Severance Sea was at its most vast and turbulent near Great Qian's borders.

However, as Shentu Xin continued moving farther away from Great Qian, the expanse of the Severance Sea rapidly narrowed until it ultimately became a long, narrow, razor-sharp passage stretching across the void.

At this moment, Shentu Xin stood at the very end of that passage.

One more step forward, and he would completely leave the Heavenly Dao Severance Sea.

The Heavenly Dao Severance Sea had originated from the corrosion of Chaos. Yet for Shentu Xin's phantom form, constant adaptation had instead transformed this place into something resembling a shelter from the storm.

As for the unknown realm ahead…

Although a puppet's body was beyond birth, aging, illness, and death, that terrifying premonition originating from the instinct of its soul remained impossible to dispel.

It was as though what lay ahead was an abyss capable of devouring all things.

Yet under Li Shun's will, Shentu Xin's phantom image no longer hesitated.

He took a single step forward.

Boom!

A violent tremor shook the depths of his consciousness, as though he had plunged into an endless abyss.

Only after the intense dizziness gradually subsided did Li Shun finally see the surrounding scene through Shentu Xin's eyes.

Above, below, and in every direction, everything was enveloped by a dense blood-red hue, as though he had been plunged into a filthy sea of blood.

Deep within the heavens, pitch-black bolts of lightning occasionally streaked across the sky. Some vanished in an instant, while others continued without end like maggots burrowing into the bone, tearing the void apart.

There was no ground beneath his feet.

Only an endless abyss.

Even more horrifying to Li Shun was that hidden within that viscous blood-red expanse were clusters of twisted objects resembling dark clouds.

From the very instant he set foot here, he sensed countless bizarre existences greedily watching him from within the depths of those dark clouds.

It was as though they regarded him as rare and precious prey.

Li Shun instinctively looked back.

To his astonishment, he discovered that the path by which he had come had already been severed.

The phantom image of Great Qian, surrounded by the Severance Qi, had vanished without a trace.

Fortunately, even though he had fallen into a dead land, he could return to Fangcun at any moment. Only then did his mind settle somewhat.

“This fatal sense of danger isn't coming from the bizarre and vicious creatures before me.”

“It is…”

Li Shun pondered for a moment, then controlled Shentu Xin's phantom form and continued forward through this hopeless void, heading toward the direction where he sensed the Martial Dao World to be.

However, before he could fly very far, he suddenly sensed that someone seemed to be watching him from behind.

He abruptly turned around.

Sure enough, he discovered other figures!

And not just one.

Within the residual traces of the void he had just crossed, a series of hazy images had manifested.

Every single one was Shentu Xin.

Li Shun's heart tightened.

As he moved forward, it was as though every inch of Shentu Xin's past had been engraved into this void by some indescribable force.

“Fortunately, Shentu Xin's phantom form is beyond life and death. Even if its past is engraved in this manner, it does not suffer much actual damage.”

“But if it were an ordinary person…”

Li Shun made a brief deduction, and his heart immediately began to pound with fear.

For an ordinary person, if their strength were insufficient to withstand this engraving, their lifespan would be consumed at an extremely terrifying rate.

Let alone borrowing several hundred years of life, even possessing thousands or tens of thousands of years of lifespan would not allow someone to travel through this void for very long.

Only then did Li Shun finally understand just how dangerous the world beyond Great Qian truly was, as Ying Wuxiu had described earlier.

“I fear that the army sent to open up new territory would have been completely wiped out before it even managed to travel very far.”

Li Shun secretly let out a long sigh.

“Just what level of strength is required to withstand this kind of imprint?”

Li Shun focused his attention on the countless imprints of Shentu Xin floating within the void.

From them, he sensed laws that were completely different from those of Great Qian.

Yet somewhere deep within, he also sensed a faint familiarity.

After pondering for a long time, he finally identified the source of that familiarity.

It came from his previous encounter within the Primordial Wilderness Illusionary Realm.

“So it seems that this power capable of engraving the past still originates from the remnants of the ancient Primordial Wilderness.”

“And the corrosion of the Chaos…”

Li Shun gazed toward the depths ahead.

He had a premonition that the dangers along this journey were far from limited to this alone.