<b>Chapter 1203: Charming Fragmented Realm</b>
News of the shuttle's appearance quickly spread across the entire Jade Sea to the corners of the Heaven Spirit World.
Many cultivators were moved by this information. Many great lineages sent disciples to the coral forest. They had their own speculations regarding this matter. Of course, there were some sects who had no interest in this matter and didn't send out any disciples.
A sect master from a lineage that was interested in the matter murmured: “Wow, the Seacrossing Shuttle is back. It is capable of reaching the fragmented realm and hasn't appeared for generations. What is the meaning behind this? Does this mean that some mysteries will be solved?”
In a powerful lineage that didn't want to participate, an old Virtuous Paragon shook his head and said: “So what about the shuttle? And the same goes for the fragmented realm. It would be a fruitless trip since that place has already become mere ruins.”
An expert under his faction spoke: “But I heard when Immortal Emperor Gu Chun was young, he went there and obtained a supreme fortune, the source of the charming spirits.” [1. Remember that Gu Chun was the first emperor and made an appearance in the second side story. His title means Ancient Purity.]
The paragon laughed in response: “That is a matter of the past — the Desolate Era. Regardless of whether the emperor obtained something amazing or not, it is a relic of the distant past. Countless generations have gone by since his era and the shuttle has appeared many more times, but until now, no one has ever heard of someone else getting anything from there. It is a forsaken land, nothing is there.”
Despite a few big shots believing that there was nothing at the Charming Fragmented Realm, other experts still moved to explore it.
In fact, imperial lineages treated this matter with great importance, especially the ones from the Charming Spirit Race. They sent experts there in a very low-key manner. Most of them concealed their identities while trying to discover a method of entry.
The charming spirits were especially interested in this because one of their wise sages had speculated that this realm had countless ties with their race. Some even claimed that it had to do with their origin.
The shuttle signified the path to the fragmented realm. Generations of charming spirit sages had researched this place, but no one knew what was within.
Because of this, many assumed that it was a forsaken wasteland of an abandoned ancient battlefield.
Regardless of these beliefs, more and more people kept an eye out for the shuttle that was slowly rising from the trench while moving forward.
There had been some changes to the shuttle after its appearance. One of the four portals carved on its hull was slowly lighting up. It seemed that the shuttle was absorbing the power of the trench in order to open this particular portal.
However, this process was very slow. The runes on the door continued to shine as if it was unlocking its shackles.
A paragon from the previous generation saw the current situation of the shuttle and commented: “The portal is about to open. When the entire door lights up, the portal will be usable and the fragmented realm will be right beyond it.”
As several more days passed, this door finally lit up completely. All the runes and totems continuously wove together to form a bright portal.
“The dao portal has been formed, we can go to the Charming Fragmented Realm now.” The cultivators who had been paying attention were slightly stunned by the portal's emergence, but they quickly calmed down.
“Let us go.” An old Virtuous Paragon personally took the lead and disappeared into the portal. His sect's disciples hurriedly entered as well.
“We'll go as well, we will be the second Immortal Emperor Gu Chun once we obtain the incredible fortune within!” Many cultivators quickly disappeared into the portal as well.
In fact, the majority of them had never been here before. It was the legend of the young Immortal Emperor Gu Chun that drew them here. They ignored everything and let caution to the wind as they decided to enter first.
After many rushed into the fragmented realm, Li Qiye and the two boys finally arrived.
“The Seacrossing Shuttle is just as the legend states.” The duo was shaken to see the shuttle with their own eyes.
They suddenly had this thought at the same time: the shuttle's appearance must have something to do with Li Qiye and the armored shark.
But as for the details, they wouldn't dare ask the quiet Li Qiye.
After seeing the formed portal, Ye Tu asked: “Will this door lead to the mythical fragmented realm?”
“Yes.” Li Qiye nodded: “This is the only path. Without it, people will never be able to reach that realm.”
Teng Jiwen looked at Ye Tu and said: “I also heard that the fragmented realm has a lot to do with charming spirits.” As a treant, he didn't care too deeply about this realm.
“Only the heavens know.” Ye Tu scratched his head in response: “It is only a legend, especially the one regarding Immortal Emperor Gu Chun and his great fortune. Who knows if it is real or not? Outside of the emperor, no one has ever heard of someone gaining anything from there for millions of years now.”
“If your forefathers heard this, they might beat your head off.” Li Qiye looked at him and said: “I don't know if others obtained treasures or not, but your patriarch, Immortal Emperor Wu Gou, obtained an extremely heaven-defying treasure from there.”
“Really?” Ye Tu was stunned. He thought about a few rumors in his sect and began to stammer: “This… this is difficult to believe… Can it be that our, our item is actually from the Charming Fragmented Realm?”
“Correct.” Li Qiye looked at the Seacrossing Shuttle, no, the Untethered Vessel, and said: “Your patriarch personally visited the fragmented realm after becoming an emperor and obtained an incredible item. It is just that future generations weren't privy to this. On the other hand, what Immortal Emperor Gu Chun's achieved in his youth was told for ages.”
“What did Immortal Emperor Wu Gou obtain from there?” Teng Jiwen became quite curious.
Ye Tu answered with some uncertainty: “I don't know too well, but I heard the ancestors say that… it might be the Void Imperfection Spring.”
Having said that, he looked over at Li Qiye in search of an answer.
Li Qiye only smiled and stared at the shuttle.
“The Seacrossing Shuttle has four doors.” Teng Jiwen changed the subject after seeing that Li Qiye had no intention of responding and asked: “Right now, only one portal has been formed. Will the other three doors turn into portals as well?”
“It is no longer important.” Li Qiye shook his head and replied: “Each portal is equal to a world, that's all you need to know.”
“Will they open then?” Teng Jiwen was a bit surprised: “According to our records, the shuttle only leads to the fragmented realm.”
Li Qiye replied: “There are too many things people don't know in this world.”
Ye Tu glanced at the shuttle and asked: “Where do they lead?”
“They have never been opened.” Li Qiye slowly spoke: “As for their destinations, who knows? The world will find out once they open. Of course, that day might never come.”
Li Qiye knew full well that it wasn't easy to open the other three doors of the shuttle. In fact, when the time was ripe, they would open by themselves. However, everything would change when that day comes…
Li Qiye spoke: “Come, let us enter. After finding what I need, I will still have to see your ancestral whale.”
After hearing this, the duo was quite moved because the whale of the Void Imperfection Three Schools was too mysterious and full of legends. However, few had seen it. At the very least, they were not qualified to see it.
The two of them followed him into the portal.
A world unraveled before them. It was a fragmented world full of questions.
Here, the mountains were either shattered or torn asunder. The earth was split by shocking scars everywhere. Even the oceans here had boiled into deserts. Up in the sky, gigantic peaks had been pulled down by universal laws. Enormous stars from up above fell onto the ground.
From these individual scenes, one could imagine the horrifying events that transpired here. It could have been a natural disaster or a heaven-shattering war!