A Terrifying Speculation Upon Closer Thought — The Higher You Stand, the More Desperate the Fall
A Terrifying Speculation Upon Closer Thought — The Higher You Stand, the More Desperate the Fall
2The Seven-Orifice Divine Rock and the Immortal Foetus — You’re Not Worthy, Subscribe Please
Jiang Chen was now a Divine Source Master revered by tens of thousands, but he had another identity yet to be exposed — that of the vicious fiend who had trapped and killed the leaders of various great sects within the Godly Illusion Tomb.
He might even be carrying something as valuable as the Godly Illusion Divinity Crystal on his person.
Not to mention, Gu Changge had also planted a Demonic Seed within him.
That thing was a ticking time bomb. Whenever Gu Changge wished, he could instantly ruin Jiang Chen’s reputation, reducing him to a rat scurrying across the street, an enemy of the entire world.
However, the time was not yet ripe, and Gu Changge had no intention of doing so.
For this assault on Kun Mountain, he still needed to make use of Jiang Chen.
“Gu Changge, I think there’s something good inside this Wondrous Stone too.”
At that moment, Gu Xianer’s voice came from beside him, interrupting Gu Changge’s thoughts. He withdrew his gaze.
“If there’s something good, then go ahead and cut it.”
Gu Changge shook his head slightly and glanced at the Wondrous Stone she had chosen. There were quite a few stones in this corner, and many Cultivators were making their selections.
Although the commotion on Jiang Chen’s side was considerable, not every Cultivator had crowded over to watch.
Seeing that Gu Changge showed no interest whatsoever, Gu Xianer muttered, “I was kind enough to tell you about it.”
With that, she had the stone-cutting master nearby cut open the Wondrous Stone for her.
In an instant, resplendent radiance spread out, causing another sensation in the area.
Without a doubt, a great treasure had emerged — its aura fluctuations alone were enough to make people dare not underestimate it.
At this point, many people finally remembered that Gu Xianer was also suspected of possessing the inheritance of a Divine Source Master. Her eye for picking stones was truly remarkable.
However, compared to Jiang Chen, a lone man with no backing, Gu Xianer was not someone they could approach.
Thinking of this, they felt waves of regret.
This Divine Rock Conference had attracted the attention of the entire Beyond. Practically every figure of note had appeared here, selecting Wondrous Stones in every corner.
Patting left and looking right, it was just like picking watermelons from a roadside fruit vendor.
At every moment, brilliant and dazzling radiance could be seen shooting up from various places, illuminating the sky above until it was completely bright.
Many ancient beings would even come to blows over a single Wondrous Stone.
Not long after, the remaining Divine Rocks among the Seven Divine Rocks also appeared one after another.
Numerous figures gathered over, crowding around from all sides, examining them constantly. Some even used ancient methods in an attempt to resonate with them.
Apart from the Intangible Demonic Rock, the other Divine Rocks were all of different shapes.
There was even one with seven orifices, as tall as a child, resembling a beating heart. Within each orifice flowed radiant light, with rosy clouds swirling, misty light flowing, and seven-colored brilliance, breathing in and out the Dao rhythm of heaven and earth.
“It’s said that a living being is being nurtured within the Seven-Orifice Divine Rock — some kind of invincible creature that will be fully accomplished the moment it emerges.”
“This Seven-Orifice Divine Rock has been sealed beneath a Dao Artifact in Kunwu City, absorbing Imperial Charm day and night. It now carries a measure of Imperial Might. If it were to emerge, the consequences would be absolutely unimaginable.”
Many ancient figures stepped forward to carefully examine the Seven-Orifice Divine Rock. They could see rosy light surging within its apertures, constantly interweaving and spreading like a layer of mist.
Cultivators with slightly weaker cultivation would even feel waves of palpitations, unable to stop themselves from wanting to bow down in worship before this Seven-Orifice Divine Rock.
Among the Seven Divine Rocks, the Seven-Orifice Divine Rock was also the most special, because it could not be cut open.
Its origins were no small matter — it had been obtained by a Dao Master of ancient times from some immortal-demon Practice Ground.
Back then, the rules of heaven and earth had not yet been broken, and a being who could be called a Dao Master of a region was at least someone who had surpassed the Celestial Realm.
Therefore, in the eyes of many, this Seven-Orifice Divine Rock was very likely the offspring of some once-invincible being, sealed away in the form of a Divine Rock.
This Seven-Orifice Divine Rock had been placed in Kunwu City for several epochs already.
During this time, some had attempted to steal it by various means, but all had failed in the end.
They either accidentally triggered the Dao Artifact guarding the stone, or were ground away by the Prohibition Array on its surface — scattered into nothing, their bodies destroyed and their Daos extinguished.
Gu Changge observed this Seven-Orifice Divine Rock and felt that it seemed to be transmitting a sense of fear and avoidance toward him.
This made him rather intrigued. It seemed that this Seven-Orifice Divine Rock had already developed no small measure of intelligence.
Besides the Seven-Orifice Divine Rock, there was another Divine Rock that drew the most attention.
To be precise, it was an Immortal Foetus, about half a person’s height, resting among a pile of immortal materials.
Its entire body was like clear, flawless jasper, crystalline and translucent. Within it, one could see hazy immortal mist flowing, wisps and strands coiling through the Immortal Foetus.
At every moment, one could see boundless Dao rhythm and spiritual essence rising between heaven and earth, being swallowed and absorbed by it. Even Cultivators standing beside it would feel their Dao Hearts become clear and transparent — some even sat down to meditate on the spot, experiencing sudden enlightenment.
The origins of this Immortal Foetus were even more mysterious. Some said it had fallen from the Nine Heavens; others said it came from a celestial river that flowed through the Celestial Domain, drifting along that river into this world.
There were too many rumors about this Immortal Foetus. Every night, one could see galaxy-like radiance falling from beyond the heavens, illuminating the sky until it was completely bright, before finally converging into it.
At this moment, many people were gathered around this Immortal Foetus, examining it carefully.
The various ancient beings employed numerous methods to inspect it, their bodies gleaming with rosy light as they activated all kinds of great techniques and divine abilities, hoping to glimpse a trace of its true form.
“This Immortal Foetus has been kept in Kunwu City for several epochs. If one wishes to cut it open, it must be exchanged for Celestial Spirits.”
“And the number of Celestial Spirits required is no small amount. Even an immortal orthodoxy would find it hard to produce. Celestial Spirits are rare items to begin with — ever since the Immortal Dao ceased to manifest, for a Cult of Immortality to produce even one or two pieces already counts as profound heritage.”
Many Cultivators shook their heads and sighed inwardly, feeling that they would likely never see this Immortal Foetus cut open in their lifetimes.
What were Celestial Spirits? They were spirit crystals containing Immortal Source, their value beyond measure. Even True Daoists would burn with greed and move to snatch them.
If a Celestial Spirit were to appear in the world, it would absolutely set off a storm of blood and carnage.
The number of Celestial Spirits required to cut open this Immortal Foetus was even more unimaginable.
Even if a True Daoist emptied their entire fortune, they could hardly gather enough. Unless the various immortal orthodoxies pooled their resources together, no one should even dream of cutting open this Immortal Foetus in this lifetime.
So although many people surrounded this Immortal Foetus, they were merely looking casually, none daring to step closer.
“Can you tell what’s inside this Immortal Foetus?”
An Xi, the Young War Immortal, Niu Wen, Jiang Chen, and the others also came over to this side.
At this moment, An Xi’s eyes burned with slight fervor as she stared at the Immortal Foetus and asked Jiang Chen beside her.
Hearing this, Jiang Chen put on an appearance of careful examination, but in his mind he was asking the Artifact Spirit of the Celestial Boat of Creation.
“There’s definitely something good inside, of unimaginable value... No matter the cost, as long as it can be cut open, it won’t be a loss.”
The voice of the Celestial Boat of Creation’s Artifact Spirit rang out, carrying shock it could hardly conceal.
Jiang Chen’s heart tightened. With a grave expression, he relayed these words exactly to An Xi and the others.
The others around them also heard these words, but none doubted them.
After all, Jiang Chen had already proven his identity and methods through his actions just now.
“What a pity. This Immortal Foetus requires numerous Celestial Spirits to cut open. Even knowing there’s something good inside, we’re not qualified to cut it.”
The Young War Immortal shook his head with some regret.
His words gained the agreement of many. Even young supremes like the King of Six Crowns and the Phoenix Lady expressed their assent.
This Immortal Foetus was the most expensive among the Seven Divine Rocks. Looking across the entire Beyond today, there was practically no one who could pay the Celestial Spirits needed to cut it open.
“The Immortal Foetus contains profound mysteries within — it may even hold something of the Immortal Dao...”
At this moment, Yu Feiya, the Eldest Princess of the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty, was also staring at the Immortal Foetus without blinking, her heart stirred.
She had a strong premonition that the final lost page of the Great Yu Celestial Dynasty’s scripture was very likely connected to this Immortal Foetus.
It was an intuition difficult to explain.
“If the various forces pooled together these Celestial Spirits, perhaps we could see it through to the end. But if anyone had Celestial Spirits, those ancient beings would have long since taken them for their own cultivation — why would they leave them behind?” The Sky Demon Sovereign strode over, his purple pupils seeming to evolve strange scenes within. After staring at the Immortal Foetus for a few moments, he shook his head and spoke.
“Is there really no other way to cut it open?”
Jiang Chen’s heart was equally fervent, and he couldn’t help asking An Xi beside him.
“No. This was sworn under a Dao Heart Oath by numerous ancient beings together.”
An Xi shook her head, though she wasn’t particularly disappointed in her heart — she had never set her sights on this Immortal Foetus.
Her goal was still the Ominous Stone that had caused the disturbance at Kun Mountain.
“Are we just going to let it sit here forever, letting an immortal stone gather dust? I don’t think leaving it like this is any good...”
“Why not cut it open and take a look?”
From the words of the Celestial Boat of Creation’s Artifact Spirit, Jiang Chen had already learned just how miraculous and precious the thing contained within this Immortal Foetus was. Naturally, he didn’t want to see it left sitting here.
“If you can produce the corresponding Celestial Spirits, then this Immortal Foetus is naturally yours to cut open.”
From another direction, a White-Bearded Old Man with a cold expression walked over, his entire body exuding an aura that inspired terror and dread.
The bones of the Cultivators present creaked and crackled, and they could hardly keep themselves from kneeling down.
He spoke indifferently, but his words caused everyone’s expressions to change slightly, turning respectful.
This was a True Daoist, a being of extremely ancient seniority — and he had been among those who had sworn that Dao Heart Oath back then.
Jiang Chen’s expression changed slightly, feeling somewhat awkward. He clearly hadn’t expected a True Daoist to appear.
He did indeed want to cut open this Immortal Foetus, but where would he get Celestial Spirits? He had never even seen what a Celestial Spirit looked like.
“Since you have no Celestial Spirits, then don’t think about cutting stones. You’re not worthy.”
The White-Bearded Old Man swept an indifferent glance over Jiang Chen, seemingly seeing through him completely at a single look. His words were utterly merciless, as if looking at some country bumpkin.
He had not the slightest goodwill toward Jiang Chen — thinking he could cut open this Immortal Foetus with just a few casual words.
If that were allowed, how would beings like them, who had sworn the Dao Heart Oath, save face?
Seeing that this True Daoist was somewhat angered, everyone present fell silent, as quiet as cicadas in winter.
Even the other ancient beings remained silent, unwilling to invite trouble at this juncture.
Jiang Chen’s expression turned rather ugly. Being humiliated like this in front of everyone, his heart burned with anger.
However, under the slightest wisp of aura leaked by the True Daoist, his whole body couldn’t help but tremble faintly. His skin felt like it was about to split apart, his face turned faintly pale, and he could hardly stand steady.
He had indeed displayed extraordinary methods just now and won the favor of many great figures.
But before a True Daoist, no one dared stand up for him at this moment. Even his good friend Niu Tian’s face turned slightly pale, his entire being nearly suffocating.
True Daoists were the beings standing at the very peak of the Beyond today. On ordinary days, they had no contact with such existences at all.
The other party needed only to breathe on them to effortlessly annihilate them billions of times over.
“This Immortal Foetus is indeed extraordinary. Today, it can actually be cut open for a look.”
Everyone was silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to make a sound.
But just then, from the other side, Gu Changge — who had been examining this Immortal Foetus for a long while — suddenly spoke with a light laugh.
Hearing Gu Changge’s words, the White-Bearded Old Man was first stunned, then recovered, clearly somewhat surprised. However, before Gu Changge, his expression still softened, and he cupped his hands, saying, “This old one greets Young Master Changge. But may I know why Young Master Changge says such a thing?”
“What? It’s going to be cut?”
Everyone present was also slightly astonished, not expecting Gu Changge to have intentions of cutting open this Immortal Foetus as well.
Jiang Chen was indeed unworthy, but Gu Changge was an entirely different matter.
If he truly wanted to cut it, he might actually be able to gather that enormous quantity of Immortal Crystals.
In the Beyond of today, there was probably no second person wealthier than Gu Changge to be found.