Chapter 1038

The starlight gate rotated, completely swallowing the figures of Han Wuxian and Yunli. The dizzying sensation of twisted spacetime surged in like a tide, then quickly receded.

They were not near that Devouring-all Eye of the Return to the Void; instead, they stood in a realm beyond words, magnificent to the point of suffocation!

Beneath their feet lay an endless expanse of pure jade-white cloud sea. This cloud sea was not illusory but condensed into substance; stepping on it felt warm and elastic, like the finest warm jade. Above the cloud sea floated countless huge islands. These islands were not made of earth and stone, but of crystals flashing with seven-colored glazed luster, flawless warm white jade, and strange metals flowing with cyan-gold rosy light! The islands varied in form: some like inverted mountain peaks, some like blooming lotuses, and some like the bases of majestic palaces.

Looking up, the sky was not ordinary azure but a profound, pure azure to the extreme! Like the finest lapis lazuli, it seemed to contain the profound mystery of the universe's genesis. There was no sun, moon, or stars, yet the entire firmament flowed with a soft cyan-gold halo, bathing this heaven and earth in bright clarity. The air was saturated with a heaven-and-earth spiritual energy so pure it was almost unimaginable, the cyan mist so thick it nearly liquefied; each breath felt like inhaling and exhaling the source of life, making every pore open and cultivation subtly increase.

Yet this seemingly fairyland heaven and earth was permeated with an ineffable pressure, the accumulated weight of myriad ages! It seemed every wisp of cyan mist, every glazed jade island, contained some supreme law's will, filling hearts with awe and forbidding the slightest desecration.

"This is……the Primeval Nine Heavens?!" Yun Li's voice trembled with disbelief, her beautiful eyes filled with shock, "Legends say the Primeval Divine Realm shattered long ago, its fragments scattered beyond the Myriad Heavens and All Realms! We… were actually sent by the Gate of the Return to the Void to the Azure Heaven Layer?!"

"Azure Heaven Layer?" Han Wuxian swept his sharp gaze across this strange heaven and earth. He could feel that the spiritual energy here was purer than anywhere he had ever been, even the chaotic energy of the ancient battlefield could not compare. But what startled him more was that, amidst the pure spiritual energy, there lurked an extremely subtle yet soul-trembling murderous aura! It seemed that beneath this seemingly peaceful fairyland lay an unimaginable danger.

The Azure Lotus Immortal's Star Chart Mark became unusually active here, resonating with crystal clarity, pointing toward a certain direction deep within the Azure Heaven Layer. The mark's fluctuations carried a sense of urgent summons.

"The aura is right ahead! Go!" Han Wuxian said in a low voice. Yan Xirou's aura meridians could not be tended to for now; saving the master was urgent!

The two no longer hesitated, fixed their direction, and cautiously moved between the glazed jade islands. They dared not fly recklessly, for the pressure here was too great, and the hidden murderous aura made them uneasy.

The cloud sea surged, cyan mist flowing. Every sight along the way was a marvel. There were peaks ten thousand zhang high, entirely carved from azure jade; there were rivers flowing with seven-colored rosy light, emitting melodious celestial music; even the fossilized bones of colossal celestial beasts and strange creatures floated in the air, their bones forged like divine metal, exuding an immortal aura, bearing witness to this heaven and earth's former glory… and its tragedy.

After advancing about half a day, an extremely vast cloud-sea plain appeared ahead. At the plain's center stood a peculiarly shaped huge glazed mountain. The mountain resembled an inverted azure greatsword, pointing straight to the firmament, exuding a matchless sharp sword intent and an ancient, weathered aura. The Azure Lotus Immortal's Star Chart Mark resonated, pointing toward the depths of that sword-shaped mountain!

"Right there!" Han Wuxian's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

Just as the two were about to speed up and cross this cloud-sea plain!

Suddenly, an aberration arose!

A low, prolonged, eerie wail that seemed able to pierce souls erupted suddenly from the depths of the pure jade-white cloud sea below! This wail was not a beast's roar; it resembled the wing-beats and cries of some gigantic insect mixed together, carrying a piercing sensation that made the teeth ache.

Immediately after!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The jade-white cloud sea beneath the four people's feet suddenly burst open four huge holes! Four massive azure figures, enough to suffocate one, erupted like ancient primordial beasts that had lain dormant for ages, tearing the air with sharp cries and a foul stench, bursting through the clouds and instantly blocking all escape routes ahead, behind, left, and right of the two!

Han Wuxian and Yun Li's pupils contracted sharply, instantly entering battle mode!

Only see these four ferocious creatures, their forms hideous and terrifying! They stood ten zhang tall, resembling a giant mantis magnified a hundred million times! But they were absolutely not ordinary mantises!

Covering their bodies was not a carapace but a hard exoskeleton flashing with metallic luster, showing a deep azure jade hue! Its edges were sharp as blades! On their triangular heads, a pair of huge compound eyes were like inlaid with countless prisms, flashing icy, bloodthirsty, emotionless gloom! Most terrifying were their forelimbs.

Not sickles, but two enormous bone swords flashing with a chilling cold light, their edges flowing with cyan-gold flames! The sword bodies were covered in profound natural runes, exuding a sharpness that could cut all things! On their backs grew three pairs of wings as thin as cicada wings yet covered with fine azure jade scales, vibrating at high speed and emitting a dizzying hum.

Four Azure Jade Sword Mantises! Each exuded an aura that had indeed reached the peak of early Nascent Soul! That pure, ancient murderous pressure was like four invisible mountains crashing down on Han Wuxian and Yun Li!

"Primeval ferocious beast! Predator of the Azure Heaven Layer!" Yun Li's face turned ashen, her voice tinged with fear. "This creature is sporadically recorded in the Meteor Fall Pavilion's ancient texts, noted for its speed, defense, and its innate Azure Jade Sword Arms; it is incredibly vicious, a hunter in the Primeval Azure Heaven Layer that makes one tremble at the mere mention!"

Screech!

The leading Azure Jade Sword Mantis let out a piercing screech! Its huge compound eyes instantly locked onto Han Wuxian! It seemed to sense the flesh-and-blood aura within Han Wuxian that had undergone Golden Flame Nirvana, containing great power, and regarded him as the best prey!

No probing at all!

That pair of Azure Jade Sword Arms instantly turned into two azure bolts of lightning that tore through space, carrying the sharp intent of cutting laws, one left, one right, slashing crosswise at Han Wuxian's head and waist!

Speed reached the extreme! Before the sword blades arrived, the fierce sword aura already made Han Wuxian's exposed skin feel stinging pains!

At the same time, the other three Azure Jade Sword Mantises moved! Two waved their Azure Jade Sword Arms, forming a vast azure sword net that lunged to strangle Yun Li! The sword net was dense, sealing off all dodging space! The last one vibrated its wings, instantly soaring, its huge compound eyes locking dead-on onto the battlefield like a cold-hearted commander, ready at any moment to deliver a fatal blow or intercept escape.

The attack was fierce! Their coordination was seamless! In an instant, the two were driven into a desperate situation!

"Be careful!" Han Wuxian let out a low roar, his eyes not showing fear but blazing with fierce fighting spirit! These four ferocious beasts were perfect for testing his true strength after Nirvana Rebirth!

Facing the incoming lethal cross slash of the sword arms, he did not choose to dodge.

Under the four-sided encircling sword net, dodging space was extremely limited!

"Good timing!" he shouted low, dark-gold starlight suddenly blazing on his arms! The arm bones forged from Great Sun Blazing Star Iron and tempered with Golden Flame, fused with stellar power, erupted with unprecedented strength! He clenched his fists, the Golden Yang Blazing Heaven Force surging and roaring through his meridians; atop his fists, scorching golden light condensed like a substantive blazing sun!