Chapter 247: A Figure in the Chaos, Drinking?

On the boundless sea, Fang Xu and his companion, together with the donkey demon Xiaohei, shot across the sky like meteors, racing at top speed toward the Central Continent.

On the sea surface, some powerful sea monsters sensed something flying overhead in their territory and poked their heads out to observe.

Some of the more hot-tempered ones even launched an attack directly at them.

Fang Xu did not go for a killing blow against them.

These sea monsters also serve as a barrier for the Central Continent and Three Mountains Island; keeping them around does no harm.

The two of them and the donkey, while traveling, knocked down any attacking monsters back into the sea, and soon reached the edge of the Central Continent.

This time they did not enter through the Ten Thousand Great Mountains in the south of the Central Continent, but instead took a northeastern detour to the place nearest the Vast Sea.

Flower City.

It is an ancient city located on the northeastern coast of the Central Continent.

The name Flower City comes from the Flourishing Flower Plateau to the north.

Folklore says the Flourishing Flower Plateau is the transformed body of the Flower God who died in battle back then.

After its death, the plateau became covered in various flowers, with different blossoms blooming throughout the year.

After landing in Flower City, Fang Xu and his companion directly disguised themselves as an old and a young ascetic.

Meanwhile, Xiaohei restrained all its aura, becoming a truly aged old donkey.

Kulun led Xiaohei, with Fang Xu following beside, and the two walked unabashedly down the ancient streets of Flower City.

"Palace Master, there don't seem to be any notable cultivators in this city."

"As an ascetic, Kulun's soul is naturally very strong."

"Later, with the aid of the Heavenly Brilliance Realm's soul cultivation, he reached the God-Uniting Realm as a powerful expert, his soul far surpassing ordinary God-Uniting cultivators."

"After entering Flower City, his soul power silently spread outward."

"After his soul power enveloped the entire Flower City, Kulun discovered that the highest cultivator in the city was only at the Origin Martial Realm."

"The rest were mostly minor lackeys of Martial Venerables and Martial Masters."

"These people gathered together, apparently belonging to some obscure minor sect."

Fang Xu nodded.

"After the Heavenly Dao Subjugation Order was issued, any cultivator with even a little confidence in their strength would feel moved."

"At this point, many cultivators are estimated to have rushed to the southern part of the Central Continent, preparing to cross the sea and attack the Divine Palace on Three Mountains Island."

Kulun gave a slight nod.

This explanation seems quite reasonable.

If things truly unfold as Fang Xu predicted, then their journey would be much safer.

Only the situation on Three Mountains Island would be troublesome.

As the saying goes, many ants can kill an elephant.

The Dark Divine Palace has grown considerably stronger after this period of accumulation.

But facing a siege by all the cultivators of the Central Continent would still be insufficient.

A single Heavenly Dao Subjugation Order has plunged the entire Central Continent's cultivators into madness.

Once they all arrive at Three Mountains Island, even without the Great Expansion Dao Sect taking action, the Dark Divine Palace might not be able to hold them off.

After waiting for the Dark Divine Palace and the continent's major powers to exhaust each other in mutual destruction, the Great Expansion Dao Sect need only step in at the critical moment to clean up the wreckage and reap the rewards.

"Palace Master, it seems we need to hurry."

Kulun said with a solemn expression.

The cultivators of the Central Continent are steadily converging on Three Mountains Island, leaving them at most two months.

After two months, Three Mountains Island will surely be surrounded by layers of encirclement.

Fang Xu nodded, carefully identified the direction, and led Kulun and Xiaohei straight toward the north gate of Flower City.

After leaving the gate, the two of them walked not long before arriving at the so‑called Flourishing Flower Plateau.

"Legend says this plateau is the transformed corpse of the ancient Flower God after its death."

Standing not far from the Flourishing Flower Plateau, Fang Xu gazed at the towering expanse before him, resembling a great mountain range, and spoke.

Kulun said nothing, directly releasing his soul power to probe deep into the Flourishing Flower Plateau to discover the truth.

"Huh?"

His soul power had barely penetrated the plateau when Kulun's face showed a hint of doubt.

Seeing this, Fang Xu chuckled lightly and asked, "Any discoveries?"

Kulun gave a slight nod: "Indeed, there's something odd—a faint ripple of divinity within the plateau."

"But it's very weak."

That ripple of divinity is the aura of divine fire.

After a cultivator ignites divine fire, as the fire burns ever more fiercely, it eventually emits a distinctive aura.

That aura is divinity.

Divinity takes form, marking a true god.

In other words, to become a true god, giving birth to divinity is the crucial step.

Fang Xu himself, though not yet a True God Realm cultivator, learned from his chats with Guyuxi that to make his divine fire give birth to divinity, he first needs pure divine fire.

What is meant by pure divine fire is that one must first cultivate a law to the level of the Great Dao.

This is a point Fang Xu must pay attention to, while other cultivators can basically ignore it.

After all, not every cultivator is like Fang Xu, simultaneously practicing several Great Dao laws.

"So you're saying the legend might actually be true?"

The Flourishing Flower Plateau's interior carries a faint trace of divinity, meaning that at least a True God Realm expert once perished there.

In the legend, the Flowering Plateau is the place where the ancient flower god fell; this saying might actually be true.

An ancient deity of the True God Realm, even if its flesh has rotted, its bones still contain Dao principle qi, making it a priceless treasure for cultivators.

"Hall Master, should we think of a way to go in?"

Kulun spoke.

Fang Xu looked at the Flowering Plateau, pondered for a moment, shook his head, and said: "Priority matters."

Although the flower god's bones are precious, they have lain here for many years without anyone taking them.

Obviously, these divine bones are not easy to obtain.

Right now, their top priority is to hurry to the Land of Fallen Gods in the Vast Sea so that Xiaohei's Dao Seed Symbol can mature.

Kulun nodded, and the two flew toward the Vast Sea with Xiaohei.

Along the way, as Fang Xu had expected, most cultivators from various cities were already or were now heading toward the southern coast of the Central Continent.

These people were clearly tempted by the Heavenly Dao Subjugation Order, preparing to go to Three Mountains Island to hunt down members of the Dark Divine Palace.

Fang Xu had no intention of stopping them.

Their journey was solely to reach the Vast Sea.

If they were to act rashly and kill them just because these people were heading to Three Mountains Island,

it would expose themselves and also lose their status.

More importantly, the disciples of the Dark Divine Palace need such cultivators to hone their strength.

He could strike and kill them all.

Then what?

When the great war begins, even the opposing side's Divine Connection Realm and True God Realm experts can strike down ordinary disciples of the Divine Palace.

In that case, even if they ultimately won, they would be a bare poles commander, meaningless.

Intent on avoiding those rushing cultivators, they soon reached the edge of the Vast Sea.

It was no different from last time.

The Vast Sea was like a dead land, with space rifts occasionally appearing out of nowhere.

Walking on the shattered ground, one could occasionally see undead creatures and strange things flickering among the many broken peaks.

Kulun looked around, his expression somewhat solemn, and said: "Hall Master, the danger here makes my heart palpitate."

Fang Xu nodded: "According to the Divine Palace's records, the Vast Sea once had at least thousands of ancient deities above the Divine Connection Realm and human experts fighting."

"Moreover, many exotic creatures have come here through shattered spaces."

"This region was completely shattered by the melee of various experts." Also, the matter of the Heavenly Mystic Realm back then was far stronger in solidity than now.

Otherwise, with so many True Gods, even experts above the True God Realm fighting for years on this land, the entire Heavenly Mystic Realm would likely have been shattered.

"Grand Master, I'll take Xiaohei to the Land of Fallen Gods; if you don't want to go in, you can wander around."

The Vast Sea is very dangerous, but as a Divine Connection Realm expert, Kulun should be able to protect himself unless he's extremely unlucky.

Kulun looked around, thought for a moment, and also felt he could wander about to seek opportunities.

After all, those who died on this land were Divine Connection Realm and True God Realm experts, and the relics left behind are tremendous treasures for him.

If he could find some, his strength would increase considerably in the upcoming war.

"Alright, I'll just wander around the Land of Fallen Gods."

Kulun spoke.

The two rushed toward the depths of the Vast Sea with Xiaohei.

Along the way, upon encountering strange creatures and the resentful souls of strong experts, the two tried to detour as much as possible.

There was no need to fight them.

After proceeding cautiously for about two days, the two finally reached the entrance to the Land of Fallen Gods.

The Land of Fallen Gods is located on a huge continent fragment.

This continent fragment seems to float in chaotic space, surrounded by grayish-yellow chaotic qi.

On the continent fragment, two huge stone statues were cut down by someone unknown, and the grand hall behind them, though already collapsed,

but its former grandeur can still be faintly seen from the broken walls and ruins.

At the entrance of the hall is a slowly rotating blue vortex.

Fang Xu surveyed the surroundings and realized that to get across, he likely had to physically traverse the chaotic space ahead.

However, the churning chaotic qi within the chaotic space made him sense a hint of danger.

It seemed that once contaminated, it would cause great trouble.

"Hall Master, this..."

Kulun also sensed the hidden danger in those chaotic qi, his expression solemn as he looked at Fang Xu.

"It's fine."

Fang Xu smiled lightly and said: "Grand Master, be careful; we're going over."

Having said that, he wrapped Xiaohei in blood qi force, took a step forward, and walked straight into the chaotic space.

Whoosh! Standing in the original spot and looking at this chaotic space, it felt sparse and ordinary.

But as soon as a foot stepped in, everything changed!

Fang Xu slowly turned his head, only to faintly sense Kulun's aura but not see his figure.

It seemed as if this chaos had formed its own space.

Without further thought, Fang Xu and Xiaohei walked slowly toward the distant Land of Fallen Gods.

Around them, the grayish-yellow chaotic qi churned continuously, without pattern.

Fang Xu cautiously guarded against the chaotic qi, steadily approaching the grand hall.

No one knew how much time had passed; as the person and donkey drew nearer to the great hall, Little Black suddenly spoke: "Master, look at that!"

It raised its head, its voice filled with disbelief as it stared into the depths of the chaotic space.

Fang Xu turned his head at the words, his eyes widening instantly.

Not far from them, amidst a churning mass of chaotic Qi, a youth clad in a cloud‑brocade gold‑patterned long robe sat cross‑legged in the void.

The surrounding chaotic Qi seemed to have no effect on him.

The youth's eyes were tightly shut, and he emanated no aura.

Dead person or living person?

Staring at the youth, a hint of doubt rose in Fang Xu's heart.

If that youth were a corpse, he must be a mighty one who fell in that ancient battle.

But if the youth were a living cultivator, his cultivation would surely be terrifying.

At the very least, he'd be at the True God realm.

The youth, enveloped in chaotic Qi, seemed to sense Fang Xu's gaze; his closed eyes slowly opened, and he turned his head to look at Fang Xu's position.

A living person!

Seeing the youth move, Fang Xu's heart tightened.

"Are you also here to cultivate, little friend?"

After staring at Fang Xu for a moment, the youth smiled and spoke.

Seeing that the youth meant no harm, Fang Xu cupped his hands from afar: "Sorry to disturb you, senior."

The youth stood up, stretched, and looked around.

Then he waved his hand, dispelling the chaotic Qi that surrounded him, and stepped through the void toward Fang Xu.

Seeing this, Fang Xu's heart gave a slight jolt, and he secretly readied himself to act at any moment.

Although the youth showed no hostility for now, Fang Xu didn't know him well, so it was best to stay cautious.

In the blink of an eye, the youth stood before Fang Xu.

He first glanced at Fang Xu, then turned his gaze to the little black donkey beside him.

"Huh?"

"This donkey demon is rather interesting."

"Even a Flawless Dao Body has appeared."

Evidently, the youth also felt surprised by the old donkey's Flawless Dao Body.

"Strange—achieving True God with a Flawless Dao Body should be a given, so why is this donkey demon's qi and blood exhausted, yet it's only at the Warrior Master level?"

The youth muttered to himself, then actually stepped forward to touch the old donkey's body.

Seeing this, Fang Xu stepped directly in front of the old donkey.

The youth blinked, then smiled faintly and said, "I was rude."

He no longer paid much attention to the little black donkey, fixed his gaze on Fang Xu, and cupped his hands: "Meeting here in the chaos, I consider us to have some fate, little friend."

"If you're not in a hurry, little friend, I have some water and wine here; may we share a couple of drinks in this chaos?"

"Drink?"

Fang Xu's expression froze.

He hadn't touched alcohol in a long time.

One reason is that, with his current strength, there aren't many legacies left that could boost him.

Inheriting the legacies of ordinary cultivators would grant attributes almost negligible.

Whereas powerful cultivators mostly possess Heaven‑Man resonance, enabling them to foresee the risks of drinking with him.

So far, his friend list contains only Li Xun.

This guy hogs the spot on his friend list, still alive and well—indeed, he's an unkillable little strong,

The youth before him suddenly wanted to drink with him, and Fang Xu's interest sparked instantly.

"Senior's invitation—I dare not refuse."

Saying this, he waved his hand and took a document from his Heaven‑and‑Earth ring, having found some old rations.

"For this trip I brought nothing special; please forgive me, senior."

The youth glanced at the jerky and spirit fruits, a flash of light in his hand, and produced a delicate wine flask.

"No problem."

He lightly waved his hand, stirring the surrounding chaotic Qi, and declared boldly: "Beautiful scenery and a fated companion are enough."

He then took out two exquisite wine cups, preparing to fill them himself for both himself and Fang Xu.

Fang Xu replied without a trace of hesitation: "You're the senior—how can I let you pour the wine?" The youth blinked, then, without ceremony, chuckled and handed the wine flask to Fang Xu. As a result, Fang Xu filled the flask with wine for both himself and the youth, then slowly raised his cup and said, "I toast you, junior." (End of chapter)

The young man stared blankly, then, without affectation, he chuckled and passed the wine jug to Fang Xu.

Fang Xu then filled the cup for himself and the young man with the wine jug, then slowly raised his cup and said, "Junior, I toast you." (End of chapter)