Chapter 31: Exploring the Consciousness Space

With the cultivation of a Great Luo Golden Immortal moving at full speed, the surrounding blood mist began to thin.

Tian Yuan saw the situation around him clearly; it was no different from the first time he came down, with no end in sight.

Taking a deep breath, he continued to flee downward.

If this blood mist truly came from the Netherworld, then it must naturally lead directly to the Underworld.

After half a day, the surroundings began to clear, but Tian Yuan could still feel the blood energy lingering in the air.

Gazing downward, in the bottomless void, a faint, ghostly light seemed to flicker.

"Have I finally arrived?"

Joy appeared on Tian Yuan's face, and his figure zipped away in flight.

As he gradually drew near, he saw that wisp of ghostly light clearly. A river—it was actually a massive river.

The river water was blood-yellow, the opposite bank invisible, flowing silently and trickling through the void.

Occasionally, small blood waves would roll up, faintly revealing unrecognizable, ghastly white bones. Some were tiny, others incomparably huge, all of them strange and distorted, not resembling human forms.

Standing by the riverbank, Tian Yuan frowned slightly.

Although he had never been to the Netherworld, Tian Yuan had heard of the Sea of Blood.

When Pangu performed the Opening of Heaven, his navel transformed into a sea of blood, where blood waves rolled, no fish or shrimp thrived, no birds or insects arrived, and all the baleful energy of heaven and earth gathered there.

That was Minghe's territory! The river before him didn't look like that at all; rather, it looked like the Wangchuan River that connected to the Netherworld.

Sensing carefully, sure enough, the blood mist permeating the air came from the opposite bank, not the blood river before him.

Hesitating slightly, Tian Yuan flew up, but as soon as he approached, he immediately retreated explosively.

The once-calm Wangchuan River suddenly surged with violent blood waves, transforming into a sky full of blood water that rained down.

In an instant, a continuous sizzling sound rang out; white smoke rose from Tian Yuan's body, and the will of Mount Buzhou shrouding him was rapidly weakening.

Scrambling out of the range covered by the blood water, Tian Yuan's face was filled with surprise.

He was able to walk in this Consciousness Space by relying on the will of Mount Buzhou, yet he had not expected the Wangchuan River to possess such power.

Within the rolling blood waves, a massive black shadow faintly flashed by, emitting a low, deep roar.

This sudden discovery undoubtedly shocked Tian Yuan even more; there were actually other living beings in this space.

Only, after a short while, the creature showed no signs of appearing—could it not leave the Wangchuan River? Staring at the river for a few moments, Tian Yuan stepped forward again; the scene was just like before, with blood waves surging, yet the unknown creature did not appear.

Tian Yuan retreated and muttered softly, "Legend says the Wangchuan River separates life and death, and even immortals and Buddhas cannot cross it."

His understanding of this river was mostly that it was born alongside Huangquan Road, and of the Meng Po at the bridgehead.

As for the Wangchuan River itself, whether in the Primordial World or in later myths and legends, there were no specific descriptions.

But judging from the current situation, the Wangchuan River was not that simple within heaven and earth.

Just as Tian Yuan was deep in thought, his figure suddenly shook slightly, and laws poured into him from the void.

Another Branch Vein had been cleared! Tian Yuan's face was joyful, but his gaze suddenly narrowed.

At the moment the will of Mount Buzhou poured in the laws, he seemed to see the Wangchuan River spanning the void tremble slightly.

However, the blood waves surging within it made it impossible to see clearly.

After pondering for a long while, Tian Yuan suppressed his intention to cross the Wangchuan River.

Having come from beneath the Earth Vein, the will of Mount Buzhou had already been weakened by the erosion of the surrounding blood mist. With the riverbank invisible before him, he did not know how wide the Wangchuan River truly was.

However, this trip down had not only led to the discovery of the Wangchuan River but had also clarified one thing: those blood mists likely came from the Nether Blood Sea.

And as for the cry for help that had sounded indifferently earlier, Tian Yuan guessed it might also have originated from the Netherworld.

Once his Essence Refining Stage was higher, perhaps he would have to travel from the Primordial World to the Netherworld Prefecture.

Taking a deep look at the opposite bank of the Wangchuan River, Tian Yuan leaped and fled toward the top.

As if sensing Tian Yuan's departure, the once-surging blood water instantly calmed, turning back into the quiet silence from before, flowing toward the depths of the endless void.

It did not take long for Tian Yuan to return to the Earth Vein. Rubbing his chin, he looked up toward the firmament.

At the very beginning, because his own strength was low and the will of Mount Buzhou was thin, he had almost only walked on the mountain and within the Earth Veins.

Later, as his Essence Refining Stage improved, he had been busy catching the Wu Clan and had not properly explored this world.

He had originally thought that in this space, apart from Mount Buzhou, there were only numerous Earth Veins; he had not expected a Wangchuan River to spring up from below.

In that case, in this gray Starry Sky, there might also be other things.

With nothing to do at the moment, Tian Yuan intended to thoroughly explore this sky.

Shrouded in the thick will of Mount Buzhou, he leaped and flew toward the firmament.

Just as he left the Earth Vein, sounds of breaking through the air came from the slightly dim space.

It was those mixed wills drifting between heaven and earth; they were crazily pouncing toward Tian Yuan.

Through the yellow-brown will of Mount Buzhou, Tian Yuan could still clearly feel the tyrannical, crazy, and bloodthirsty aura.

And as Tian Yuan continued to ascend, more and more mixed wills surged from all around.

Looking from afar, Tian Yuan now resembled a beehive, surrounded by countless bees.

Feeling the numerous wills that were still pouncing in an endless stream, a thought flashed through Tian Yuan's mind.

They were blocking him!

There was indeed a major problem above this firmament! Could there really be a Sun Star and a Lunar Star? Having cleared and purified thirty Branch Veins, the will of Mount Buzhou was no longer what it once was.

These densely packed wills crashed crazily, but he was not affected in the slightest, continuing to flee rapidly toward the firmament.

Only, after half a day, Tian Yuan's expression became somewhat depressed.

Although these wills could do nothing to him, their layer-upon-layer influx severely obstructed his vision.

Under the gray sky, he simply could not see things in the distance and could only bury his head and fly forward.

Fortunately, compared to below the Earth Vein, he could mobilize more of the will of Mount Buzhou, so Tian Yuan did not mind.

One year, two years—he had flown for five full years, and the sky above his head remained gray and hazy.

Five years of time passed, and three more Earth Veins below were cleared, but Tian Yuan did not see the Sun Star or Lunar Star he had been expecting.

"It seems my Essence Refining Stage is still not enough!" Tian Yuan muttered in his heart and stopped in mid-air.

He felt that he was not far from a breakthrough; there were major things to do once he stepped into the mid-stage of Great Luo Golden Immortal.

Glancing at the wildly surging wills all around, Tian Yuan had no choice but to flee back the way he came.

After flying for only half a day, Tian Yuan's expression froze.

The chaotic wills surrounding him began to scatter, and within his line of sight, a divine mountain shrouded in Mysterious Yellow Qi stood tall.

Mount Buzhou! As he drew closer, Tian Yuan also saw the brilliant, golden Earth Veins on the ground.

He had clearly flown straight upward for five years, yet the return trip took only half a day.

"Hoo!"

Tian Yuan took a deep breath; his direction could not be wrong, so this space must be somewhat strange.

The world of consciousness perhaps cannot be explored by the naked eye alone.

As he fell into the Earth Vein, the last wisps of chaotic will around his body fled frantically.

Before Tian Yuan could think carefully, a tremendous might rose from the divine mountain in the distance, and it bloomed with dense Mysterious Yellow Qi.

Beneath his feet, Gungun laws surged, accompanied by a powerful aura rising up.

Mid-stage Great Luo Golden Immortal!

He had stepped into the mid-stage of Great Luo Golden Immortal!

(End of this chapter)