Chapter 647: Defending the City
Chapter 647: Defending the City
In Inferno City, a majestic wall stood tall, and atop it, a towering tower soared into the sky. At the very top of the tower, a vast expanse of void stretched, within which hovered around a dozen figures. Some were towering and majestic, while others were shrouded in dark light, concealing their forms.
Just then, a ripple appeared in the void, and another figure stepped into the tower. He wore a green robe, his skin adorned with fine emerald scales, and his aura had reached the peak of the Seventh Heaven. Yet, upon entering the tower, he carefully suppressed his aura, containing it to the best of his ability.
Green River, the Divine Lord, swept his gaze over the numerous figures within the tower before his eyes settled on the deepest figure among them. He bowed slightly and greeted with a smile, "Heaven Scenery, it's been a long time since we last met."
"With Heaven Scenery overseeing the South City Gate, we can all rest assured."
As a Divine Lord at the peak of the Seventh Heaven, the only ones who could command his respect were the overlords of the Eighth Heaven. And indeed, the figure in the white robe standing before him was one such overlord—Jing Tian, the Divine Lord.
Jing Tian was clearly acquainted with the newly arrived Green River. He gave him an appraising look and shook his head with a sigh, "In the tens of eras since we last met, Green River has made further progress, while I've spent the same amount of time in seclusion without any gains."
Only those who had reached the Eighth Heaven were qualified to choose to defend the city. Below the Eighth Heaven, only Divine Lords at the peak of the Seventh Heaven had the chance to be selected for this duty, and they rarely refused.
Decades ago, Green River had not yet reached the peak of the Seventh Heaven, but now, after several decades, he had finally made a breakthrough. This prompted a sigh from Jing Tian, as he had been a member of the Flame Sun Sect for at least hundreds of kalpa years. During this long period, he had witnessed the growth of many cultivators, and while they had advanced in their cultivation, he remained stuck at the Eighth Heaven.
On one hand, advancing beyond the Eighth Heaven was incredibly challenging. On the other hand, his situation was unique compared to others. Many cultivators outside had multiple incarnations or avatars, allowing them to gather resources and comprehend the Great Path. However, all of Jing Tian's external incarnations had been destroyed, leaving only his Divine Energy Incarnation trapped in the Endless Abyss.
The Endless Abyss offered no resources for cultivation, so if he wanted to comprehend the Great Path, he had to meditate in seclusion. He would take on the duty of guarding the city for extended periods, accumulating enough time to then enter prolonged seclusion, hoping for a breakthrough.
Alternatively, he could venture into the Endless Abyss in search of mystical phenomena to aid his comprehension, but this was an extremely dangerous endeavor. Given that he only had his Divine Energy Incarnation left, he was unwilling to take any risks.
After listening to Jing Tian's words, Green River also sighed, "Trapped in the Endless Abyss, our cultivation path is indeed hindered. If we were in the outside world, Heaven Scenery would have likely reached the pinnacle long ago."
Advancing from the standard of the Eighth Heaven to its peak was, in fact, a natural progression. This step required the comprehension of more Triple Mystic Arts Fusions, and since one had already stepped into the Eighth Heaven and comprehended at least one Triple Mystic Arts Fusion, continuing to comprehend more was not as challenging as the initial step from nothing.
With enough time, one could eventually reach the pinnacle.
However, the Endless Abyss was indeed a barren place, devoid of resources and offering little for comprehension. This was why Jing Tian had been stuck at the Eighth Heaven for such a long time.
In truth, Jing Tian was not overly concerned about advancing from the Eighth Heaven to its peak. No matter how challenging the environment or how scarce the resources, with his foundation and cultivation, he could eventually reach that level through prolonged accumulation.
What truly worried him was that even this step from the Eighth Heaven to its peak was so difficult. This meant that his chances of breaking through to the Ninth Heaven after reaching the peak of the Eighth Heaven were incredibly slim, and he might remain trapped in the Endless Abyss forever!
The Endless Abyss—truly living up to its name.
Hearing Green River's words, Jing Tian merely shook his head slightly and gazed into the distance at the expanse of crimson rock caverns. He fell silent and did not respond.
The other Divine Lords nearby greeted Green River respectfully.
"Congratulations, Green River."
"The last time we discussed the Dao, I felt you had already accumulated profound insights, just a step away from the breakthrough. Indeed, in just a few decades, you've taken that step. Now, we all await our ascent to the Eighth Heaven."
The Divine Lords, all at the peak of the Seventh Heaven, were extremely polite to Green River.
On one hand, Green River had reached the Seventh Heaven Peak, matching their strength. On the other hand, in the Endless Abyss, the Divine Lords of the Cultivator Ensemble were all on the same front line. Moreover, for the next ten thousand world years, they were responsible for guarding the city and had to work together without any mishaps.
Green River Divine Lord smiled faintly and responded to everyone.
"This time, there shouldn't be any others for the city defense, right?" someone suddenly said.
Generally, for city defense tasks, having an Eighth Heaven Overlord stationed, along with over ten Seventh Heaven Peak experts, was enough to handle ordinary Abyss Beast attacks. Only under rare circumstances would they face difficulties.
Just as his words fell, a ripple appeared in the void, and a figure silently emerged at the top of the tower.
Everyone's actions paused as they turned to look. The newcomer wore a simple robe, and although he wasn't tall, his divine energy seemed incredibly dense, giving off a subtle aura of intimidation. His vital energy was unfamiliar.
Seeing the stranger, Green River Divine Lord and the others remained silent, carefully observing him. Their minds quickly guessed his identity.
"Pasture Chen, greetings to all of you," Chen Mu said, his gaze sweeping over the Divine Lords.
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone confirmed their guesses and identified Chen Mu.
The one who had recently joined the Flame Sun Sect... Mu Divine Lord!
Although the Flame Sun Sect had thousands of Divine Lords, any new Divine Lord joining would be known to some extent by various factions. Moreover, Chen Mu wasn't an ordinary Divine Lord but an Eighth Heaven Overlord! Out of the thousands of Divine Lords in the Flame Sun Sect, only a few dozen had reached the Eighth Heaven.
According to rumors, Chen Mu wasn't like Jing Tian, who had mastered Tri-Harmony Integration. Instead, he relied on his profound foundation and divine energy roots to forcefully break through the Eighth Heaven threshold. He was an Overlord, but compared to a true Eighth Heaven expert like Jing Tian, he was a notch weaker. Nonetheless, he had still broken through the Eighth Heaven, marking a qualitative change in his strength.
"Mu Divine Lord," Green River Divine Lord and the others responded, having realized who he was.
Jing Tian, who had been gazing into the distance at the vast crimson Lava Caverns, was slightly surprised. He turned to Chen Mu and said, "I heard that the Flame Sun Sect has a new fellow Daoist. I didn't expect to meet him so soon. I was planning to invite Mu Divine Lord to my cave mansion after this matter is resolved."
As an Eighth Heaven Overlord, he was slightly arrogant towards Green River Divine Lord and the others. However, towards Chen Mu, who had also reached the Eighth Heaven, he treated him as an equal.
According to his knowledge, Chen Mu seemed to have reached the Eighth Heaven threshold through accumulation and foundation, without truly comprehending Tri-Harmony Integration. This made him somewhat different from a true Eighth Heaven expert.
Perhaps, after a long time, Chen Mu might comprehend Tri-Harmony Integration, taking a significant step forward in strength. He might even leap directly towards the Eighth Heaven Peak, surpassing Jing Tian.
However, it was also possible that, like most Seventh Heaven experts, he might get stuck at the threshold of Tri-Harmony Integration, unable to progress further.
Regardless, Chen Mu had indeed reached the Eighth Heaven, and his strength was worthy of recognition.
"Jing Tian Divine Lord," Chen Mu recognized Jing Tian's identity. As an Eighth Heaven Overlord, he had already learned about the many Divine Lords in the Flame Sun Sect from Vanggu Divine Lord and Peng Yi.
Chen Mu nodded slightly towards Jing Tian and said, "I'm new to the Endless Abyss and not yet accustomed to the environment. So, when I first arrived, I secluded myself for some time to understand the situation here."
Jing Tian nodded, "When I first fell into the Endless Abyss, I was also at a loss. I wandered alone in the Lava Caverns for a long time before joining the Flame Sun Sect and settling down. I've been here for hundreds of kalpa years. Although I haven't explored much, I know quite a bit about this place. If Mu Divine Lord has any questions, feel free to ask me."
"Thank you, Jing Tian Divine Lord," Chen Mu replied.
Although Jing Tian's strength didn't match Vanggu Divine Lord's, as he said, he had spent hundreds of kalpa years in the Endless Abyss. Even without much exploration, his understanding of the place was profound, and he might know secrets that even Vanggu Divine Lord was unaware of. Chen Mu, being polite, returned the courtesy.
In the vast and desolate crimson cavern, a small city flew slowly above the ground, almost inconspicuous.
Looking down, one could see the rugged rock layers and countless dark caves on the cavernous land, all leading to unknown destinations. These caves were interconnected, forming a vast underground network.
The city flying above was none other than Inferno City, which, despite its small appearance, was capable of using Void techniques to condense its vast body into a tiny point within the spatial structure.
However, even with such concealment, Inferno City's slow flight couldn't completely hide its presence.
The various Abyss Beasts born within the Endless Abyss had unique and bizarre ways of scouting. Even if the city suppressed its aura to the extreme in the Void and Creation aspects, these beasts had their methods of detection.
Many Divine Lords had attempted to study these beasts, but to no avail. The composition of the Abyss Beasts was similar to that of the rock layers, formed by the fusion of various Mystic Arts from different Great Paths, making it beyond the comprehension of the Divine Lords.
Looking upwards, one would notice the absence of a sky dome. Instead, the distant horizon revealed another layer of rugged rock, indicating the upper level of the Lava Caverns. Through the openings on its surface, one might find passages leading to the layer above.
Inferno City flew between these two layers of Lava Caverns, maintaining a central position to avoid getting too close to either side.
Despite their efforts, incidents continued to occur during the city's slow flight.
Below Inferno City, a tentacle-like mysterious shadow silently emerged from a rugged cave, sensing the city's presence and seemingly observing it. As the city gradually moved away, the shadow finally made its move, shooting out of the cave and merging into the Void, swiftly pursuing Inferno City.
Moments later, it approached the city and collided with the outer Void barrier.
Simultaneously, within Inferno City, on the top of the walls and towers, Jing Tian, Green River, Chen Mu, and many other Divine Lords opened their eyes, all looking outward.
(End of Chapter)
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