<b>Chapter 505: Ominous Grave's Secret Realms</b>
“How does one know whether the endpoint of a cloud is bad or good?” Lan Yunzhu couldn't help but ask. However, Li Qiye, with his eyes closed, had already focused his thoughts and didn't answer her question.
The three of them rode the clouds for a very long time. All of a sudden, Li Qiye spoke with a deep intonation: “Get ready to jump down.”
“What?!” Li Qiye's words caused the other two to exclaim in fear.
This place was a boundless and endless expanse. Jumping down was no different than courting death. They saw — with their own eyes — the fate of the cultivators who jumped down.
“Jump!” But the two didn't have time to think since Li Qiye already pulled the two of them down from the clouds.
The three of them started falling down like meteors and lost all control of themselves. Lan Yunzhu and the daoist were almost scared to death. They tried to use flying techniques, but even the best technique would not be able to lift them in this place.
They then wanted to take out flying treasures, but Li Qiye yelled at them: “Don't move!”
The stunned daoist and Lan Yunzhu finally resigned themselves and didn't take out their treasures. They then closed their eyes while freefalling.
“Ah—” Screams tore through the sky while the three of them fell down like shooting stars into the bottomless void.
They fell for an unknown amount of time before finally feeling a soft, cotton-like sensation. A soft force broke their hard fall.
“Pop!” The three of them fell to the ground and could smell the muddy ground.
Lan Yunzhu and the daoist became ecstatic; the smell of mud was indeed wonderful. After falling for so long, standing on hard ground made them feel very lucky. Being in control was such an exciting thing!
After calming down, they took a look around and became dumbfounded. They saw shining lights in the sky and realized that the cotton-like sensation was the boundary in the sky. They fell from a high place and eventually broke through the boundary in the sky to reach this place.
Li Qiye got up and Lan Yunzhu quickly stood as well. She then took in the scene before her eyes with astonishment.
Before her was a huge lake with water so clear that it was like a piece of jade. The soft blowing wind gave a comfortable feeling, and there were many rocks around this place. These round rocks that were randomly lying around formed a big rock. This scene would cause spectators to think that they were at some lake back in the Sacred Nether World and not the Prime Ominous Grave. The daoist got up and asked in surprise after seeing the big lake: “Where is this place?”
This scene greatly differed from the grave in his imagination. With rippling waves and clear water, unsuspecting people would think that this was a paradise. Who would suspect that they were in the Prime Ominous Grave that was filled with ghastly and nether energy?
“A Secret Realm in the Prime Ominous Grave.” Li Qiye sat down and calmly spoke: “After entering the Prime Ominous Grave and riding the blood clouds, there would be a stopping point. However, being at a bad stopping point would make it very difficult. After leaving the stopping point, one would reach a Grave Realm.”
“What is this Grave Realm?” The daoist curiously asked.
Li Qiye looked at him and replied: “They are almost no different from continents, but going to the wrong place will result in death. However, if one goes towards the right direction, then they might gain a great creation. There are five Grave Realms in the Prime Ominous Grave. As long as you can find a dao platform, then you can teleport to any of the five Grave Realms. To those who come inside the grave, the first stopping point would be their first test of luck. Whether they can find anything or not will be up to their own fortune.
“However, once they reach the Grave Realms, it will no longer be left to just luck. In order to obtain King Medicines or treasures, besides having the luck to reach the right place, they would also need sufficient strength, wisdom, and talents!
“In short, the stopping points are based on luck while the Grave Realms are based on one's ability.” Li Qiye continued with a smile: “With sufficient strength, one might come back victoriously, but if unlucky, this might become their burial ground. This Prime Ominous Grave… It is not dangerous yet also very dangerous; this would depend on the ambition of the individual. If one is satisfied with what they have, then the chance of leaving alive is high.”
After hearing Li Qiye's explanation, the two obtained a better understanding of the Prime Ominous Grave. Lan Yunzhu then looked at the big lake and asked: “What about a Secret Realm?”
Li Qiye responded: “Secret Realms are not found inside Grave Realms. Just like its name, no one knows where these Secret Realms are located or how many there are. Entering a Secret Realm is pretty simple; one just has to jump down from a blood cloud. Of course, the requirement is that they have to pick the right spot so that what awaits them is indeed a Secret Realm and not death.”
“How does one know where these Secret Realms are?” The daoist asked.
Li Qiye looked at him and shook his head to say: “No one knows. It is up to luck and fate. If you choose correctly, then congratulations, you have obtained a creation. If you choose incorrectly, then I'm sorry, you are dead. However, your Heart-ghost Tribe has a peerless calculation technique, right? You can try it if you are interested.”
“No, no, I don't want to try!” The daoist startlingly exclaimed while waving his hands: “A burial ground like this place is a taboo of the heaven and earth. One cannot just calculate it. If one forcefully does so, then a calamity would befall upon them. Our Heart-ghost Tribe once had an ancestor who wanted to obtain the method of everlasting life in the Prime Ominous Grave. I heard afterward that this ancestor forcefully calculated to search for this mythical method and was struck by lightning, dying on the spot. Moreover, at that time, the rest of our tribe also suffered the heaven's wrath and were struck by lightning for a whole day, resulting in heavy losses.”
“That means… the Prime Ominous Grave really has a method for everlasting life?” Lan Yunzhu couldn't help but emotionally inquire.
“I'm not sure, but the forcefulness of our ancestor brought a calamity upon us. Logically speaking, this method should truly exist. If not, then there might be something else that the heavens doesn't want others to know.” The daoist shook his head. He would always speak with a serious demeanor when it came to this topic.
“The method for everlasting life? I know about this.” Li Qiye said with a smile.
Lan Yunzhu and the daoist were frightened. Lan Yunzhu then asked in shock: “Is there really a method for everlasting life?”
Everlasting life was something that cultivators had always chased after. There was a rumor stating that even Immortal Emperors would not have an eternal life; however, their final destinations were also unknown. Some said that they all died while others said that they had traveled to the legendary tenth world!
“If there was truly such a method, then I would risk my life to seize it.” Li Qiye shook his head and continued: “There are ways to achieve everlasting life, and the grave does indeed have things that would allow for people to live for a very long time. However, the price that must be paid is beyond your imaginations.”
“What is it?” The daoist curiously asked. Everlasting life was tempting to everyone; countless old undyings sealed themselves for this very reason.
However, using Blood Era Stones for sealing purposes would not grant them eternal life; it was simply a form of escaping from the withering of time. After one leaves the stone, they still wouldn't be able to escape death!
Li Qiye only smiled mysteriously and didn't answer the daoist. The daoist only sighed since he knew that he shouldn't pry further.
“What is the difference between a Secret Realm and a Grave Realm?” Lan Yunzhu couldn't help but ask while staring at the crystal-clear lake.
“It's very simple, one would obtain a creation just by entering a Secret Realm. You would only have to risk yourself once since there is only one chance with the Corpseblood Clouds.” Li Qiye answered.
Daoist Heaven Calculating couldn't help but wonder: “Risking one's life by jumping down in exchange for a creation — is this worth it? This is nearly suicidal! There's practically no chance for survival.”
Picking the right spot to jump was quite an impossible task. Only the heavens knew where these Secret Realms were amongst the vast emptiness. Picking the right spot was harder than finding a needle in a haystack!
“As long as you are lucky, it is worth it!” Li Qiye added with a smile: “The origin of the Prime Ominous Grave is beyond your imagination; each Secret Realm has a defining treasure. If you can get such a treasure and are content with it, then you can leave without going to a Grave Realm. The defining treasures of the Secret Realms are extremely amazing.”
“Every Secret Realm has its own defining treasure?” Lan Yunzhu asked with surprise: “Then how many Secret Realms are there? If there are a lot of them, then wouldn't these treasures be too common and worthless?”
“You are overthinking it.” Li Qiye laughed and stated: “If there are countless Secret Realms, then there would be no need to pick. Just close your eyes and jump down since even a fool would be able to reach a Secret Realm. It is really difficult to find the exact amount of Secret Realms in the grave. In my opinion, there is only one.”
“Oh god, there is only one?” Daoist Heaven Calculating was scared out of his mind. He almost fell to the ground due to his weakened legs. With a blanched expression, he said: “Boss, did you just guess? The probability of surviving is probably lower than fishing a needle out of the sea!”
[spoiler title='505 Teaser']“How does one know whether the endpoint of a cloud is bad or good?” Lan Yunzhu couldn't help but ask. However, Li Qiye, with his eyes closed, had already focused his thoughts and didn't answer her question.
The three of them rode the clouds for a very long time. All of a sudden, Li Qiye spoke with a deep intonation: “Get ready to jump down.”
“What?!” Li Qiye's words caused the other two to exclaim in fear.[/spoiler]