The Stars Beyond

Who could have predicted that the profound changes, like seas turning into mulberry fields, would happen in the blink of an eye? Gods tumbled from the heavens, and once-celestial immortals became mere mortals, all in pursuit of the last vestige of transcendental land, braving death to venture into unknown worlds.

This cataclysm arrived swiftly and fiercely. Mythology faded away, and the world returned to normalcy.

"Why does the universe seem to favor mortals, correcting itself? Or is there another reason we don't understand why transcendence exists but is so fleeting?" an immortal of the highest order pondered, his status of immortality threatened in this era, reducing him soon to a mortal.

"If the divine is granted to inspire hope and wonder, not just as stories but as real as life itself, why can't it endure? The flash of transcendental brilliance is all too brief," a sword immortal lamented. His spirit still shimmered with the light of ten colored swords, but his face showed the wear of time. In this era, his celestial sword had dulled; no longer could he cleave the heavens or split rivers. He could not even sustain flight, doomed to fall to earth.

Ahead lay a vast and imposing scene, the dark cosmos punctuated by interdimensional rifts, which ordinarily lay hidden, only recently casting forth light.

It was known that this was the path of the transcendental sea, passing through clusters of planes, filling crevices, and flowing through cosmic rifts.

Wang Xuan, along with the others, advanced towards the massive cosmic fissure ahead. Long ago, a vanished super-civilization had named such places the Abyss. Only upon approaching could one truly appreciate its grandeur and depth. Normally, without light, it resembled a deep chasm.

Now, emitting a gentle glow, it seemed less daunting, more like a heavenly expanse laid out for exploration.

Wang Xuan wasn't just escorting the others into the breach before turning back; he intended to delve into the fissure himself, bearing the Life Furnace. He wanted to witness the revival of the Sword Immortal firsthand, uneasy about leaving without seeing her restored.

Many powerful beings had come to this place—gods and immortals alike, many still not ready to extinguish the flame of transcendence within them, still seeking a new mythic realm.

Wang Xuan walked among many familiar faces, exchanging words and sharing in the collective quest for understanding.

From a distance, it appeared merely as a rift, but upon entering, it revealed itself as an interdimensional passageway, a colossal subterranean realm, where traces of transcendence could still be felt. This peculiar plane, typically gray and lifeless, now pulsed with vitality as the transcendental sea had infused it with new life, altering everything in its wake.

"We've truly gone underground," someone remarked.

The presence of the transcendental sea hadn't yet been visually confirmed, but its essence was palpable in this subterranean world of the plane.

"This is a cluster of planes. The sea of light will linger here for a while. Everyone, be cautious," warned another, "it occasionally backflows. Follow the sea, don't fall into it, lest you face irrevocable doom."

The underground world unfolded, its grand passageways resembling massive wormholes, deep and shrouded in mystery. They pressed forward, occasionally hearing what sounded like the roar of tsunamis, and at times, eerie wails.

"It seems other super-civilizations have trodden this path before, and many perished. The remnants of their spirits linger still," Yen Mingcheng commented, leading the way with the immortal umbrella, eyeing the various fragmented spiritual remnants scattered across the cavern.

"Look there, Six Calamities Celestial Herb! To find such a rare elixir in a place like this is extraordinary," exclaimed someone upon discovering significant flora in the cavern.

"Over there, some Phoenix Blood Tree saplings. Eons ago, a divine bird perished here, its blood seeping into the underground world. Now, nourished by the boundless spiritual essence washed over by the transcendental sea, medicinal trees have sprouted."

The group was taken aback. They had assumed the fissure was barren, yet it held surprises.

"Be careful!" a warning shout rang out.

A fragment of a spiritual remnant floated upwards. Ordinary humans couldn't see such spectral beings, but those daring enough to venture here were no ordinary beings; once mighty, they could clearly perceive them.

A ghastly scream resonated, targeting their spiritual realms, causing discomfort among many.

With a swift motion, Zhang Daoling acted, launching a blaze of fire that engulfed and quickly dissipated the spectral entity, its struggle ceasing as it vanished into the void.

The journey into the spectral chasms revealed unsettling realities. “It’s unexpected that the path left by the Transcendental Sea could revive spiritual ‘corpses,’ making them sentient once more,” someone mused, voicing a somber reflection. “Let’s hope that future travelers won’t stumble upon our spiritual remnants. May we succeed in our crossing.”

The pervasive sense of doom was palpable, underscoring the powerful civilizations that had ventured here before, only to leave behind their spiritual corpses as grim markers. “One must keep hope alive,” countered Qi Yi, the Demon Ancestor. “From these spiritual remains, it’s clear they weren’t assimilated by the Sea of Light. They likely just missed the correct timing.”

As they ventured deeper, they discovered numerous medicinal herbs and encountered manifold dangers. The subterranean plane held mysteries that both amazed and unnerved the travelers.

Suddenly, Wang Xuan halted, sensing an impending threat. The stone wall before them exploded, unleashing a formidable spirit. “An Evil Spirit!?” he exclaimed, quickly securing the Nourishing Furnace. With a swift motion, he drew his Zixiao Convergence Sword, its blade singing through the air, its remaining rules sweeping across the area.

The creature, bathed in bloodlight and nearly human in form with crimson wings and clad in red spiritual armor, was only about three feet tall. This spirit, a true ancient malevolence, had no physical body and was unrelated to the technological specters known from mother ships. It was an ancient malevolence that devoured human spirits without reason.

Its cries caused the complexions of many degenerated celestial beings to pale, revealing an innate vulnerability.

After numerous dodges and swift attacks, the creature's agility was formidable, but eventually, it could not escape Wang Xuan’s relentless pursuit. With a decisive swipe of his sword, he ended its existence.

Continuing their exploration, the group discovered behind the stone wall a sizable cavern with a hundred skeletal remains that crumbled to ash upon contact, their age beyond reckoning.

So many had missed their chance at the Transcendental Sea and perished here, giving rise to the specter. Clearly, this wasn’t an isolated incident. The underground world likely held more caverns and potentially even more powerful or mysterious specters, their origins as enigmatic as they were terrifying.

Someone speculated, "It must be the unresolved resentment of an ancient cultivator. When the Supernal Light Sea passed by, its distant radiation revived it, bringing it back to life."

As they progressed, Wang Xuan took the lead, his approach notably aggressive. He was eager to catch up to and get closer to the sea, knowing that the closer they were to the Supernal Light Sea, the easier it would be for the Sword Immortal to recover.

"Don't get too close to the sea; haste makes waste, and it's easy to invite disaster," Bai Jingchu cautioned. There was a real risk that the Supernal Light Sea could surge back, threatening their lives.

Wang Xuan nodded. Although he hadn't yet seen the sea, he had already heard its sound and even sensed its "smell"—the distinctive aura of the supernal.

Excitement spread among many in the group. Even if they couldn't cross the sea, just staying close to it might preserve some of their spiritual achievements and prevent them from devolving into mere mortals.

Suddenly, a thunderous boom echoed in front. The cavern ahead was inundated by the Supernal Light Sea, sending a dazzling sweep of light cascading toward them, accompanied by the sound of a tsunami, a vast surge visible in the distance.

"Move quickly, the Supernal Light Sea is changing its course; don't let it catch up to us!" shouted the patriarch of the Hook Chen Emperor's Palace. He maneuvered the Xiao Yao Boat, hastily gathering his disciples and starting their escape.

Being engulfed by the sea meant certain death, instantly assimilated into its vastness.

Fang Yuzhu covered their retreat, using the Curtain Heaven Bracelet to collapse the tunnels behind them, temporarily blocking the sea's advance as she repeatedly struck back.

"The force is unstoppable; this is just the precursor. The real ocean is about to surge through and will tear apart these caverns. Move fast!" Wang Xuan yelled.

"I know," Fang Yuzhu replied, nodding.

The group retraced their steps, desperate to escape. Nobody wanted to be absorbed into the primordial sea of the cosmos.

"Situations are worsening; the sea is also spreading ahead of us, breaking through the caverns! Are we trapped?!" someone exclaimed, their face pale with terror.

Chasing after the sea was indeed perilous, and they were already facing its backlash at the very beginning.

"Keep calm, there are many exits in this cavern. Follow me this way!" Yan Mingcheng shouted, leading the way forward.

Behind them, someone exclaimed as they spotted something amidst the tumultuous waves, "Those are… Creation Crystals!" Brilliant crystals, colorful and dazzling under the tumultuous light, were being churned out by the waves.

While some didn't even glance at them, focused solely on escaping, others hesitated for a moment too long and were overtaken by the Supernal Light Sea, swallowed by a giant wave and lost to sight.

The cavern was vast, like a small world unto itself, but here, it could easily be filled by the Supernal Light Sea.

Much later, the group finally escaped from the perilous area. Some were pale, others silent, the early casualties casting a shadow over their spirits. A few began to consider turning back.

Still, more spacecraft continued to arrive from afar, carrying those who had heard the news later or from more distant regions of the cosmos, all taking longer to reach.

Wang Xuan watched over Jiang Qingyao within the Life Preserving Furnace, noting her vitality strengthening but still not as quickly as he'd hoped, which furrowed his brow.

Near the Light Sea, the remnants of supernal essence stirred but weren't as potent as expected. "Do we need to be closer to the sea itself?"

"Everyone, be careful," Bai Jingchu warned. "The Supernal Light Sea holds promise, but once swept away by it, only despair remains."

No one took her warning lightly. Legendary figures such as the Demon Ancestor, Zhang Daoling, Xu Fu, Qi Yi, and others, including gods and immortals, all proceeded with the utmost seriousness.

They set off again, this time more cautiously, exploring another set of caverns. They discovered an extensive network of caves, unfortunately devoid of life, only filled with bones—the remnants of sages not from their era of mythological civilization.

Two days into their journey, deep within the rift, they stumbled upon a colossal array of teleportation circles, severely damaged yet unmistakably intended for inter-dimensional, even inter-universal, travel.

"This is a super teleportation array," Yan Mingcheng remarked, shocked. "And not just one, but many layered together. Were they attempting an expedition across dimensions, across universes?"

Fang Yuzhu bent down to inspect closer. "They used these to cross the sea. A group went far beyond with the highest-grade teleportation arrays."

Around the array platforms, they found what seemed to be fragments of relics, causing Bai Jingchu to gasp in surprise. She carefully examined the area, where fragments of what seemed to be ancient lantern stands lay scattered.

"It's likely… the Path-Burning Lamp," Fang Yuzhu said gravely, revealing the artifact's origin, which sent a shock through some of the onlookers.

Beyond the known relics, ancient texts spoke of a Path-Burning Lamp, similar to the fabled Celestial Mirror that was destroyed. Some claimed the lamp was also ruined, while others argued it never existed at all—unlike the Celestial Mirror, which left fragments behind, the lamp had left nothing.

"To think it was here, used as the central core of this teleportation array," Yan Mingcheng remarked, his voice thick with awe. "This array is even more formidable than we imagined, but the relic at its heart has disintegrated."

Zhang Daoling was visibly shaken. "For an expedition, for inter-universal travel, that civilization burned a relic as a catalyst to power this grand array?"

"No, the Path-Burning Lamp was already damaged; otherwise, it wouldn't have been destroyed—just drained of its power, fallen into dormancy," Yan Mingcheng interjected, privy to some hidden lore.

Bai Jingchu added, "It's said that the lamp clashed with the Dao Harnessing Banner and was fractured, irreparably damaged. It was then brought here to serve as the core of the supreme teleportation array, likely unable to withstand the tearing forces of two universes. The initial cracks must have burst open early on."

Fang Yuzhu concluded grimly, "Those people likely died en route; the moment the core of the supreme teleportation array exploded, survival was impossible."

Silence fell over the group. So much had been sacrificed, even the Path-Burning Lamp was destroyed, yet those before them had met with failure and death.

This was somewhat disheartening. The pursuit of a new realm of myth seemed insurmountably difficult, as not a single pioneer had succeeded. Based on both the ancient records and the physical traces they had uncovered, all pointed to tragic ends. They couldn't help but wonder, was there any path forward?

Five days into their journey through the interdimensional fissures, they stumbled upon a harrowing sight: tens of thousands of bones, all that remained of once formidable transcendents, now nothing more than a testament to a powerful faction that met its demise in pursuit of the elusive Supernal Seas.

"Did they die assimilated by the sea, or did they simply miss their chance and perish in an age of decline?" the travelers mused, reflecting solemnly upon the skeletal remains, seeing in them a mirror of their potential fates.

Eight days later, deeper into the subterranean realm, they encountered a nest of ancient specters amid a graveyard sprawling with bones. Old temples and hermitages stretched out across the cavernous space, remnants of a mythic civilization that had sought to chase the sea here—but tragically failed.

Amidst their exploration, eerie screams and ghastly growls echoed in the distance as a spectral being surged forth, attacking with a force rivaling that of a terrestrial immortal.

"How could it retain such power without a relic?" someone wondered aloud.

"It's been near the sea recently," another explained, "a temporary resurgence and enhancement of its power."

Despite the dangers, the group, armed with divine relics and accompanied by genuine immortals, decisively eliminated the nest of spectral beings. None could withstand their combined might.

On the thirteenth day, as they reached a confluence of multiple planes, the seas surged back in a fearsome tide, swallowing a portion of the transcendent seekers.

"In a world bereft of hope, where pursuit of transcendence seems futile, did we err in our quest?" an elderly sage asked, his voice quivering with emotion.

Even Wang Xuan fell silent, the path's uncertainty and inherent dangers casting a shadow over his heart.

"Qingyao!" he exclaimed suddenly, realizing that the Sword Immortal had not yet awakened. He knew all too well that the universe's relentless forces were stifling their mythic capabilities.

Yan Mingcheng cautioned him, "Don’t act rashly, trying to get closer to the sea. It's less a sea now, more an underground river—if you touch it, you're guaranteed to be swept away!"

By the fifteenth day, Wang Xuan stumbled, sensing three glowing points within him. Instinctively feeling that something was about to transpire, he steadied himself and introspectively examined the luminescent seeds, wondering, "Are they transforming, or has something gone awry?"