The duo went on their way at a normal pace. Every once in a while, Li Qiye would stop and observe the ground.
After seeing his actions, she curiously asked: “Where are we going?”
“The next domain.” Li Qiye smiled: “This isn't the only place here. Inside this grand momentum are many great domains. A domain like this is only a tiny corner of the overarching momentum.”
“This vast place is only a tiny corner? Then wouldn't this momentum be as large as Heaven Spirit itself?” She was startled. [1]
Li Qiye shook his head in response: “No, you misunderstood me. I'm saying that this vast realm only carries a small amount of the momentum's unimaginable power. This is the reason why even emperors can't easily take down this place.”
The two went on for a long time before arriving at a dune. While standing on top of it, Li Qiye looked around and smiled: “This is the place. Get ready, we're about to jump.”
Yonghuang took a deep breath and stood next to him.
“Go!” After she was prepared, he held her and jumped. The two disappeared instantly.
The scene before them changed as they were now back in Reincarnation Valley. She looked around and saw the watery valley again, not too far from the old tree.
“Fiercest also found the right path.” Many were watching from the entrance and noticed the two reappear.
It might look like they were still close to the entrance. However, there was a great realm separating the two locations.
In the next second, both of them disappeared from the valley again. The sand was no longer there. They were situated in a vast plain with rolling mountains and verdant trees. Of course, they saw many cultivators here as well. These people were searching for spirit medicines and grasses.
This place might be majestic, but it was also damaged. One could see collapsed mountain ranges and destroyed lakes. These scars have been alleviated by the passage of time, but they were still apparent enough with a keen eye.
Yonghuang commented after seeing this: “Is this due to emperors and sea gods coming in later, or could it be an even more ancient war?”
“It's just a corner of an old world.” Li Qiye didn't answer directly.
Meanwhile, the cultivators here were very curious as well. They followed the Prince of Darkness' group to this particular domain and found the plentiful alchemy ingredients here. Thus, they stayed behind to find some more instead.
The duo continued into a particular ravine where Li Qiye jumped with Yonghuang once more. They returned to the valley before disappearing into the next domain.
The scene changed again into a world of ice and snow as far as the eyes could see. The ground and everything in it was completely covered while snow fell like goose feathers. Sky-piercing mountains and grand lakes weren't spared from the downfall.
It seemed as if the snow had never stopped falling here ever since the ancient age. Yonghuang found archaic structures and floating pavilions as she walked around. This seemed to be the ancestral ground of a great sect.
Inside were different buildings and connecting bridges; all of these mottled buildings were enveloped in ice.
Yonghuang asked: “What about this place?” This location was definitely inhabited by people in the past. However, it seemed to be abandoned just like the rest of this icy world.
“As you might have imagined, it is another deserted world. Its inhabitants have fled.” Li Qiye smiled and spoke while looking at the falling snowflakes: “This snow is not caused by the villainous heavens.”
This made Yonghuang shudder. She suddenly had a terrifying thought and took a deep breath before asking: “This is… man-made?”
“Pretty much.” Li Qiye flatly said: “During the destruction of the world, an ultimate blow was unleashed, annihilating everything in its path as well as freezing this world. Even though it managed to expulse the enemies, the user's own world suffered as well.”
She was astonished after hearing this. A frozen world still trapped in perpetual snow after millions of years — just how terrifying was this?
If this was the ultimate blow during its apocalypse, then what kind of monstrous character was its user?
“You don't need to be surprised.” Li Qiye stated while looking at the dazed woman: “Perhaps one day, Heaven Spirit will face this fate as well.”
“This will happen to Heaven Spirit too?!” She was aghast.
Li Qiye nodded: “Yes, it will happen one day. If it can survive the disaster, then it will be a good place for outstanding talents in the future.”
Yonghuang found it hard to calm down after knowing this. She could already see the end of days and how terrifying it would be. Calling it an apocalypse wouldn't be an exaggeration.
She saw many experts in this world as well. They were digging through the trapped palaces in order to find amazing treasures. Without a doubt, these ones followed the prince's group as well and decided to stop for the fortune in this place.
After seeing the mass, she uttered: “Zhentian's group really knows the way.”
“It's nothing too surprising. The Spirit Abyss is the local snake here, they know the ridge very well. They have done ample research on this matter too.” Li Qiye smiled.
Li Qiye and Yonghuang jumped through several large domains of all shapes and forms. One was engulfed in fire as if the entire world had been scorched. One particular domain was fragmented from a terrible war; the entire place was collapsing. Another one was desolate and lifeless. It was as if all creatures have left as they were unable to survive in such a place…
Even though these domains had a certain level of danger, they weren't overly perilous. Many cultivators had followed along and stayed behind in these different domains for treasures.
Yonghuang eventually asked: “Didn't you say that the grand momentum was very dangerous?”
Li Qiye smiled and said: “The time is different. The nine leaves are near maturity, so the momentum is only focusing on it for a successful bloom. That's why it isn't strange for these places to not be dangerous.”
They crossed over several more domains. However, at the final one, someone actually blocked their path.
The jumping point of this domain was a long and narrow valley covered in snow. It seemed that crossing this place would be the same as passing through this world.
However, no one could enter the valley since it was blocked by some people.
When the two got there, many experts were gathering at the entrance. Everyone wanted to pass through, but entry was not allowed. This made them angry, yet they didn't dare to voice their displeasure.
After seeing the duo, someone cried out: “There's Fiercest.”
Many eyes lit up at their arrival. Even those who were usually annoyed from seeing him found him quite pleasing to the eye at the moment.
“No one is going to block Fiercest's way.” People were secretly celebrating.
The crowd quickly parted so that Li Qiye could get to the front. Their intentions couldn't be any clearer; it was to let Li Qiye open the way for everyone.
1. Momentum is the same character for world/era/momentum/aura. In the initial context, it sounded like an aura, but it wasn't the word for aura, so momentum was the right choice. Momentum still makes sense, but in this particular context, world is the apt choice. Just know the same word in Chinese has all of these English meanings.