nycdaug Chapter 1520 The Edge
Chapter 1520 The Edge
Three years is but a fleeting moment for cultivators, but for Lu Chen and the others, it was a long and arduous journey.
They avoided countless perilous situations and repelled no fewer than fifty waves of cultivators who coveted the treasures on their bodies.
We finally arrived at a vast Gobi Desert.
However, the sight before them made even the three seasoned veterans shudder.
As far as the eye could see, the world was shrouded in darkness. It wasn't nightfall, but a deathly grayness that enveloped the earth.
The earth was shattered, and dark spatial rifts, like hideous scars, crisscrossed irregularly, sometimes disappearing and sometimes suddenly opening, emitting a faint but teeth-grinding "hissing" sound, devouring everything nearby.
The air was filled with various violent and chaotic traces of Daoist energy: scorch marks from raging flames, craters from lightning strikes, frost crystals from frozen ice, and deep trenches from sword energy... layer upon layer, eroding each other, forming a chaotic and dangerous area of forbidden laws.
Scattered among them are various shapes of white bones, some humanoid, others enormous or strange beast or demon bones. Most are incomplete, some even exhibiting crystallization or jade-like qualities, clearly indicating that they possessed considerable cultivation in life, yet ultimately perished here, silently telling the story of the cruelty of this place.
"Should we take a detour or continue on?" Lu Chen asked, puzzled.
Fang Xinyi's expression was solemn. She cautiously extended her divine sense, but dared not extend it too far, for fear of touching those unstable spatial rifts or arousing the remaining violent Dao traces.
She looked around, her voice slightly tense: "The spatial structure is fragile and chaotic, the Dao traces have been conflicting for years, and the evil energy and death energy have accumulated... We should have arrived at the outer edge of the Nirvana Forbidden Land."
Upon hearing this, Lu Chen was filled with emotion. He hadn't expected that it would take him seven or eight years to reach a place related to the Nirvana Forbidden Land after setting off from Zhongtong County.
"Finally... we've reached the door." Lu Chen said in a low voice. These words were not only directed at Fang Xinyi and Nezha beside him, but also seemed to be an explanation for his three-year journey.
Nezha looked around and pouted, "What a lousy place! Not only is the divine energy thin and chaotic, but these spatial rifts are practically alive, so annoying! Lu Chen, which way do we go next? Should we take a detour?"
Lu Chen stared at the desolate Gobi Desert in front of him, but his eyes gleamed with an unusual light.
"Take a detour?" A meaningful smile appeared on his lips. "Nezha, Miss Fang, carefully sense the aura in this Gobi Desert. Spatial rifts intersect and cut, and Dao traces clash and linger. It seems like a dead end, but in reality, it contains fragments of the most primal and violent laws of heaven and earth."
"What do you mean?" Nezha seemed to understand something and asked subconsciously.
Lu Chen took a step forward, the sand and gravel beneath his feet trembling slightly: "What is needed to cultivate the Dharma Form of Heaven and Earth? It is precisely to comprehend the laws of heaven and earth and condense one's own Dao essence. In ordinary places, the laws are peaceful and complete, making it difficult to perceive their true nature. But here—"
Lu Chen suddenly opened his arms, as if to embrace this desolate place: "The laws are shattered, conflicting, and manifesting! This is the perfect place to comprehend the essence of the Dharma form and hone one's own Dao imprint! If we go around it, wouldn't we be entering a treasure mountain and leaving empty-handed?"
Upon hearing this, Nezha's eyes blazed with fighting spirit: "You're right! The path of cultivation is never smooth sailing. The more dangerous the journey, the more you hone your true skills!"
Fang Xinyi pondered for a moment, her delicate brows furrowing slightly: "That's true, but this place is fraught with danger. If I encounter a perilous situation while cultivating, I'm afraid it will be difficult to attend to everything at the same time..."
"So we need a plan."
Lu Chen's smile faded, his expression turning serious. "I will set up a triple-layered array here—an outer layer for early warning, a middle layer for protection, and an inner layer for gathering spiritual energy and condensing the Dao. The three of us will act as each other's support, taking turns protecting the Dharma and cultivating. Although the progress will be slower, safety will be absolutely guaranteed."
Fang Xinyi and Nezha both thought it was feasible and nodded in agreement.
Over the next two weeks, Lu Chen consumed a large amount of array materials to set up a level 5 Saint-grade array.
This formation activates the earth's veins and even cleverly utilizes some of the energy escaping from spatial rifts to create a relatively stable cultivation area.
When the pale golden array of light lit up for the last time, firmly enveloping an area of three miles in radius, the three finally began their cultivation on the outskirts of this forbidden land of Nirvana.
Time flows by silently, like the wind over the Gobi Desert.
The first year was almost entirely spent adapting for the three of them. The chaotic fragments of laws in the Gobi Desert were as sharp as blades, and every meditation and insight was like walking through thorns.
Nezha was the most radical, repeatedly forcibly drawing lightning and fire into his body, almost causing the foundation of his Dharma form to shake.
Fortunately, the "Primordial Creation Technique" that Lu Chen gave him was powerful enough, and with the guidance of the formation, Fang Xinyi was able to turn danger into safety by using gentle wood spirit energy.
The following year, the three of them gradually found their own way in the world.
Under Lu Chen's intentional or unintentional guidance, Nezha's celestial form mainly revolves around "three heads and eight arms, fighting against heaven and earth".
In this land where laws are shattered, he no longer pursues the completeness and grandeur of the Dharma form, but instead focuses on "purity" and "condensation".
Nezha chose an area in the Gobi Desert with the densest thunder and fire Dao traces, shrunk his Dharma form to a height of three zhang, and had eight arms each holding a phantom of a weapon, tempering it in the thunder and fire.
The process was extremely brutal. Lu Chen and Fang Xinyi witnessed Nezha's Dharma form being torn apart by violent lightning and fire multiple times, only to be reassembled through his unwavering will.
Each time it breaks and reforms, the Dharma image becomes more solid, and the phantom of the weapon becomes clearer.
By the end of the second year, although Nezha's Dharma form had shrunk several times, his every move still faintly brought forth the sounds of wind and thunder, and when his eight arms were waved, subtle ripples appeared in the space.
Fang Xinyi's path was completely different. She was originally a wood spirit, and in this desolate and lifeless Gobi Desert, her "Green Wood Longevity Form" was greatly suppressed.
At first, her Dharma form was dim and almost impossible to manifest. But she did not force it; instead, she sat quietly and sensed the "death intent" deep within this land.
“Life is born from death, and opportunity lies hidden in annihilation.” One day she suddenly opened her eyes and said softly.
From then on, her appearance began to change. The once lush and verdant forest phantoms gradually withered, but tiny, very faint buds sprouted among the dead branches.
The tender shoots were not green, but a nearly transparent silvery-white, containing a strange vitality.
Her concept of the universe no longer pursues broad coverage and strong healing, but instead turns to the artistic conception of "the cycle of prosperity and decline, the line between life and death".
The scope of the Dharma image has shrunk, but the silvery-white vitality at its core can subtly form a delicate balance with the deathly silence and malevolent energy of the Gobi Desert.
Lu Chen's cultivation method is the most unique.
His main cultivation method of the cosmic realm is "Nine Suns Annihilation of the World". This cosmic realm is based on nine blazing suns, which can burn the sky and boil the sea, making it extremely destructive.
However, in this Gobi Desert where the laws of nature have been broken, he discovered that simple “destruction” is unsustainable and can easily lead to more chaos.
Therefore, Lu Chen made a bold attempt. He actively split the Nine Yang Dharma Image, with three blazing suns suspended above the formation to absorb the true essence of the blazing sun that remained in the Gobi Desert during the day.
Three wheels sank into the earth's veins, stirring up the earth's fire and yin flames; the last three wheels were thrown into the most dangerous edges of spatial rifts, tempered by the power of spatial tearing!
However, Nezha considered such actions to be madness and warned Lu Chen:
"You are destroying your own Dharma image! Don't act impulsively!"