Eternal Tale

Chapter 300: Despair and Truth—No Path Ahead

“Moo~~!!”

A deafening roar echoed through the skies as six terrifying figures began forming a formation. The massive ship started to unleash its full power!

The branches of the Crane Spirit Five Elements Tree extended further, covering the sky and blocking the sun.

An enormous shadow loomed over the battlefield, its branches swaying and emitting divine light, radiating an aura of unparalleled terror.

Today, Brother Ox and the Crane Spirit had unleashed their full potential!

Xiao Chi clung tightly to Brother Crane, his teeth chattering. His mind was completely blank, unable to form any coherent thought.

Buzz—

The ship's spiritual patterns flared to life, shooting skyward as it accelerated. A black-and-white streak surged forward, crashing headlong into the boundary sky of the War Realm!

“Stop them!!!”

“Hurry, we cannot allow this!!”

“Such insolence!!!”

The air suddenly filled with terrifying, overwhelming presences.

Giant blood-soaked hands materialized in the sky, descending with the force of collapsing heavens. Even before they fell, their immense pressure felt like being submerged a thousand feet underwater.

In a heartbeat, they moved to crush the ship, completely locking onto its aura.

Suddenly—

Boom!

Two massive axe lights, brimming with a deathly aura, cleaved through the sky, shattering the giant hands. Blood rained down, splattering in all directions with an overwhelming force.

The corrupted beings on the ground gazed up in shock, scrambling to shield themselves from the aftermath.

“Corrupted beings, you must face me first.”

A cold, indifferent voice resonated through the air as Chen Xun crossed his axes. His eyes were deep and unreadable as he gazed into the distance.

“Kill him.”

“He is not a living being.”

Two voices filled with boundless hatred and malice echoed, their auras surpassing even mid-stage Deity Transformation cultivators.

Chen Xun’s expression turned serious. There were more than just these two.

Boom! Boom!

As the corrupted beings prepared to attack, an enormous change occurred. The ship crashed directly into the ancestral grounds of the War Realm!

Roar!

Screech!

“Kill!”

The endless corrupted beings on the black soil went berserk, launching an all-out assault against Chen Xun.

They would stop at nothing, even death, to ensure the destruction of these intruders. Today, these living beings must die!

“Moo!!”

“Brother Chen, it’s bad!”

Brother Ox and Xiao Chi roared in alarm. All around them, corrupted beings of Deity Transformation strength surged forth.

Even the black mountains multiplied. They were completely surrounded!

But the most despairing realization was not the sheer number of enemies. Despite repeatedly ramming into the barrier, it remained unmoved.

What’s worse, low-level corrupted beings at the Qi Refinement stage were being birthed directly from the gray specks within the barrier, which they had inadvertently released. This was the birthplace of the corrupted beings—there was no path forward!

“What...?” Chen Xun’s eyes widened as he looked at the hundreds of newly born corrupted beings they had dislodged.

They lay silently on the ground, unresponsive, as if they hadn’t fully developed.

A sense of panic filled the air—they had been deceived. There was no path through the War Realm. The end of the battlefield was where the corrupted beings were born!

In the distant sky, a vast ocean of tainted blood surged, and terrifying Deity Transformation corrupted beings began to awaken, exuding overwhelming hatred, fearless and unyielding.

They advanced, carrying black mountains on their backs. Even from afar, the bone-chilling wind they emitted could be felt.

The cold aura of the battlefield quickly dissipated, replaced by a sinister and powerful force emanating from the depths of the War Realm. This force grew stronger with every passing moment.

The pressure from the storm of corrupted beings intensified, nearly suffocating them.

“Moo?”

“Brother Chen?!”

“Retreat!”

Chen Xun’s eyes flashed with reluctance as he scanned the surroundings. With a wave of his hand, tens of thousands of mystic-grade Seated Oblivion Talismans vanished into the energy of the world. His primordial spirit began to retreat—escape was their only option.

If any corrupted beings triggered these traps, they would instantly explode, reducing them to nothing but blood mist.

“Moo!”

Brother Ox bellowed as he unleashed the power of his black coffin. The deathly aura surged, slaughtering the pursuing corrupted beings and covering Chen Xun’s retreat.

The corrupted beings not only faced the destructive power of the talismans but also the corrosive death aura, resulting in gruesome deaths.

Boom!

Chen Xun landed steadily on the deck and shouted to Brother Ox, “Old Bull, move now!”

“Moo!!”

Brother Ox had already prepared. The five-elemental flags shone brilliantly, casting divine light. Suspended behind him, he pressed his hoof onto the crane’s head.

Buzz!

The radiant glow of the five elements illuminated the space, and the brilliant light flickered as the entire area trembled. The air filled with deafening booms.

Roars and cries of fury echoed as terrifying figures attempted to crush the ship.

No one had ever heard of someone setting up a teleportation array amidst millions of corrupted beings, let alone escaping.

Buzz—

A thunderous sound erupted as the ship vanished before the eyes of countless corrupted beings.

Just as they disappeared, a barrage of life-ending techniques crashed down.

Tainted blood flooded the battlefield, engulfing the area as the corrupted beings roared in rage.

“Damn it, damn it all!”

“When did such beings appear in this realm? Why would the heavens allow such a race to exist?!”

“All efforts are in vain. The ancestral grounds of the War Realm are not for cultivators to breach.”

“Ridiculous, laughable.”

The voices of several corrupted beings echoed in the sky, and the corrupted beings on the ground trembled, showing utmost reverence, not daring to act recklessly.

Despite their confidence, a chill gripped their hearts. The beings they had encountered were too terrifying, possibly even superior to the corrupted beings themselves. Living beings ranked lowest in this hierarchy.

“They cannot be allowed to remain. Our kind should be the most revered race under heaven.”

“Indeed.”

“Our people must find and hunt them down!”

A surge of divine consciousness rippled across the minds of the corrupted beings. Their eyes flickered with clarity as they committed Chen Xun’s image to memory, preparing for the hunt.

Boom! Boom!

The ground shook as the endless waves of corrupted beings began to retreat. This place was their sacred ground.

In the sky, a few corrupted beings remained silent, their expressions twisted in anger. They had yet to launch their retaliation when such an enemy emerged.

During the ancient battles, the cultivators of the War Realm perished alongside the corrupted beings at the Void Refinement stage. The war along the coast had severed one of their crucial paths.

In the end, an ancient formation had been laid, depleting the black soil of its energy for tens of thousands of years. Even now, it hadn’t recovered.

But the cultivators’ resources had also diminished; they struggled to even produce Deity Transformation cultivators. The innate resources of heaven and earth were becoming scarcer.

Yet, they still had the black mountains, which replenished the black soil. Given enough time, their kind would once again produce Void Refinement corrupted beings, ready to wage war against the War Realm cultivators.

“Cultivate, everyone. The living beings will never pose a real threat.”

“Agreed. Their greed and fear of death limit the future of cultivators.”

“Hmph, against us corrupted beings, they’ll never outlast us.”

The voices sneered coldly. Their logic seemed sound, and they believed their kind's resolve and unity far surpassed those of the corrupted beings. Eventually, this realm would belong to them.

With that, flashes of bloodlight scattered in the sky as they retreated to their nests, not daring to delay their cultivation.

<hr>

At the coastline of the War Realm, a massive ship docked.

They had returned safely, yet their expressions were heavy, and no one spoke.

Chen Xun pondered the path ahead. That place was not the way forward. Perhaps there once was a path, but their realm had been sealed—no way in, no way out.

Brother Ox considered the origins of the corrupted beings, snorting occasionally. Was this situation driving them into a corner?

The corrupted beings emerged from that gray-blue expanse, and it was no formation. They couldn’t break through.

From the transparent expanse, the way stretched infinitely—no path existed there.

Xiao Chi took a deep breath. A bold, immature theory formed in his mind, but it felt far-fetched, and something didn’t add up.

Chen Xun frowned, feeling that further exploration along the Celestial River’s edge was meaningless. “Old Bull, there are at least mid-stage Deity Transformation corrupted beings at the end. We must prepare—I refuse to believe there’s no way through.”

“Moo!”

Brother Ox nodded firmly. He hadn’t thought much about the path. If Brother Chen and Senior Brother Ji said there was a way, then it must exist—only their strength wasn’t enough yet.

“Brother Chen, you were magnificent when you fought the corrupted beings!”

Xiao Chi grinned, his paws clasped together. Despite everything, he still preferred Brother Chen’s warm and gentle demeanor.

Chen Xun turned to Xiao Chi, his face brightening into a warm smile.