On the other shore, emerald multideck ships departed from the ferry crossing one after another, sailing into the Chaos Sea and heading in different directions.
The crossing's garrison commander watched the emerald multideck ships fade into the distance and murmured, "A tenth-layer cave abyss of the Great Dao, held within the Three Realms' universe by a pack of primitive cultivators. How tempting."
Over the years, through the cave abysses of the Heavenly Immortal Realm, the other shore had already roughly pinpointed the Three Realms' location in the Chaos Sea. It was not far from the other shore, but back then there had been no need to send out scouts to find it.
Now, however, the harvesting plan in the Immortal Realm had been thwarted, and a cave abyss of the Great Dao's tenth layer had emerged. It was well worth taking the risk to investigate.
"The scouts will locate the precise coordinates of the Three Realms and bring them back."
The currents of the Chaos Sea were exceedingly treacherous. To find a universe within this sea was fraught with difficulty, even if that universe lay right before one's eyes.
Dispatching scouts to search was therefore the best choice for the Immortals of the other shore. At that very moment, an emerald multideck ship was actually traveling in reverse—emerging from the Chaos Sea, entering the other shore, barging straight through the ferry crossing, and tearing away through the void.
By the time the garrison commander gave chase, the ship had vanished into thin air. After searching for a long time in vain, the commander shook his head and turned back to the crossing, thinking, *It's most likely some True King who discovered a new universe and intends to keep the spoils for himself.*
From afar, Lu Yiren watched the garrison commander depart. He had knocked out a member of the other shore's Sacred Clan and donned his clothes, which had allowed him to escape the commander's notice.
Finding a desolate mountain, Lu Yiren buried the bones of his parents. He bowed in reverence, then rose and walked away.
"All living beings of the Three Realms, I will seek justice for you!"
***
Before the skeletal colossus, the World-Crossing Golden Ship drifted. Everyone aboard felt the suffocating oppression emanating from this skeleton. Even Emperor Mingdao, Xu Ying, and Yuan Weiyang were suppressed by it!
The gulf between the ninth and tenth layers of the Dao Realm was perhaps even vaster than the divide between mortals and immortals!
In the ninth layer of the Dao Realm—the Immortal realm—one's body was one with the Dao, the Great Dao was coextensive with oneself, one's very being was the Great Dao, and one's primordial spirit was the Great Dao!
Yet this skeleton of the tenth layer gave the impression of a Lord of Great Dao!
Facing this skeleton, the Great Daos they cultivated actually felt a primal urge to submit!
Had this skeleton still been alive, a single thought from him could have agitated the Great Daos inside their bodies, throwing out of control the very Daos they had painstakingly cultivated through immense hardship!
Such was a Lord of Great Dao. Everyone felt deeply shaken.
The tenth layer of the Dao Realm truly existed!
The big bell and the Immortal-Slaying Sword flew out, curiously hovering toward the prehistoric giant skeleton, yet neither dared draw too near.
The oppressive presence rolling off the prehistoric skeleton suppressed and dominated their Daos as well!
Seeing the big bell and the Immortal-Slaying Sword fly out from Xu Ying's Hunyuan Cave Abyss, Yuan Weiyang could not help bursting into a giggle. When Xu Ying turned his head to look at her, she quickly suppressed her smile.
"Mistress, what are you laughing at?" Mingman asked inquisitively.
"I'm laughing at your master's 'Dual Perfection of Bell and Sword,'" Yuan Weiyang whispered, stealing a glance at Xu Ying. "Your master once had an old acquaintance named Li Xiaoke, who was renowned for his Dual Perfection of Bell and Sword. Your master even wore Li Xiaoke's clothes..."
As Xu Ying glared over, Yuan Weiyang hastily added, "I was wrong! I'll treat you to rouge later."
Princess Mingman asked in bewilderment, "Is rouge delicious?"
Xu Ying coughed to interrupt her wild conjectures and said, puzzled, "The giant skeleton is looking toward the Three Realms. Could it be that during his era, the Three Realms already existed?"
No one could answer this question.
Left with no other choice, Xu Ying reached out through the spiritual light corridor in his sea of consciousness to consult the Far Ancestor. When the Far Ancestor Big Dragon heard that the end of the Abyss Sea held both the Chaos Sea and a giant skeleton, he grew wildly excited. "There's such a fun place beyond the Abyss Sea? I want to go have a look, too!"
Xu Ying repeated his earlier question. The Far Ancestor Big Dragon replied, "I don't know either. Although I am the Far Ancestor of the dragon race, I was not the first living being in the world. Before I was born, the Three Realms already existed, though that was still a primeval era."
Though ancient beyond measure and revered as the Far Ancestor, he was not the first dragon in history. The history of the Three Realms was even older than his, and dragons had already inhabited the world long before him.
Although cultivation methods existed during the primeval era before the Dragon Court era, none were systematic. It was the Far Ancestor who had first established the cultivation system of the Dao Realm, thereby bringing civilization to the Three Realms.
Unable to get an answer from him, Xu Ying prepared to withdraw from the corridor.
The Far Ancestor's consciousness pursued him along the corridor, fawning, "Lord Ying, let me stay in your sea of consciousness for a little while. I'll just look; I won't seize your body. Just show me the outside world."
With a thought, Xu Ying mirrored what he saw into his sea of consciousness.
Looking upon that towering prehistoric skeleton, the Far Ancestor murmured, "Is this the tenth layer of the Dao Realm that surpasses immortality? So massive, so sturdy... I'm afraid he was far bigger than even me. Why would such an existence die? Who could possibly kill him... Ah Ying, lend me an eye. I want to see with my own eyes."
Xu Ying lent him one eye. The Far Ancestor examined the giant skeleton, and after a moment, said, "Get a little closer. I can't see clearly."
Xu Ying had Yuan Weiyang steer the World-Crossing Golden Ship closer to the giant skeleton. Suddenly, the golden ship creaked violently and plummeted downward. It crashed hard at the feet of the giant skeleton, knocking everyone aboard dizzy.
The Far Ancestor was also startled by his own terrible idea. Seeing that everyone was unharmed, he felt relieved and urged Xu Ying to step up to the skeleton for a closer look.
Everyone disembarked one after another. At this place, their cultivations and Great Daos were nearly useless; only physical strength could be exerted.
The big bell and the Immortal-Slaying Sword also dropped with a clatter, completely immobilized.
Xu Ying tried circulating his cultivation and found that whether it was Taiyi, Wuji, Primordial Origin, Chaos, or Samsara, or even the Hunyuan Cave Abyss he had cultivated in recent years, none would function. Yet his Martial Dao cave abyss was still turning.
The Martial Dao was essentially the power of the physical body, which could not be suppressed.
Xu Ying's heart stirred, and he immediately grasped the reason: *The Martial Dao has no runes, no Dao patterns, no dragon patterns, nor the principle scripts of the other shore. That is why it isn't suppressed.*
*The Martial Dao is an acquired Great Dao. Cultivating the Martial Dao produces only a mass of primitive primordial qi, known as true qi.*
Because it lacked foundational frameworks like runes and Dao patterns, cultivation was slow; even a genius like Martial Emperor Shen Luo had been hindered by its realms.
Yet precisely because it had no runic framework, one could still mobilize cultivation under the oppression of a tenth-layer Dao Realm existence. This surprised Xu Ying immensely.
Vaguely, he felt as if he had stumbled upon a momentous discovery. The Martial Dao had no runes and required no Great Dao structure... Whether it was Taiyi, Samsara, Primordial Origin, or Hunyuan, all required underlying frameworks such as runes and Dao patterns to manifest the Great Dao. The Martial Dao, however, required none. In other words—
While he was lost in thought, the Far Ancestor urged him on once more.
Unable to figure it out for the moment, Xu Ying picked up the big bell and the Immortal-Slaying Sword, stowed them inside his Martial Dao cave abyss, and walked forward. Resisting the pressure of the giant skeleton, he arrived beneath the colossus's feet.
Once inside his Martial Dao cave abyss, the big bell and the Immortal-Slaying Sword felt the crushing pressure vanish, leaving them utterly astounded.
The Far Ancestor, controlling one of Xu Ying's eyes, rolled the eyeball this way and that, whereas Xu Ying's other eye barely moved, calmly taking in the scene...
Nothing could really be discerned from this skeleton. The bones showed no structure, nor any textures like runes or Dao patterns; there were not even any pores upon them.
"How was such a Dao body forged?" the Far Ancestor asked in astonishment, muttering, "Even my body of indestructible spiritual light seems somewhat inferior to it..."
He had cultivated both his physical body and primordial spirit into indestructible spiritual light, making him immensely formidable. His was virtually a pure Undying True Spirit body, which differed from a Dao body.
Xu Ying had forged a Dao body without turning his flesh into indestructible spiritual light. His path differed from the Far Ancestor's and was closer to that of this giant skeleton.
Yet he too could not discern what Great Dao structures made up this Dao body skeleton. Suddenly, recalling his earlier realization, his heart leapt, and he blurted out, "I understand! The tenth layer of the Dao Realm requires no underlying Great Dao framework at all! A tenth-layer Dao body is composed of the Great Dao itself, which is why no structure can be seen!"
What kind of outrageous statement was this?
Without any underlying Great Dao framework, could a Great Dao even be formed?
It would be impossible to cultivate, let alone command immense power!
Yet Xu Ying was thrilled, his mind racing with possibilities.
The Martial Dao was an acquired Great Dao. It required no complicated frameworks like runes or Dao patterns to cultivate, and Martial Dao true qi was a primitive primordial qi devoid of any attributes.
Whatever qi was cultivated through other Dao methods, the Martial Dao could master and wield it all.
Using this as a foundation and continuing to cultivate, one could surely reach the tenth layer of the Dao Realm and attain the state of this Lord of Great Dao!
*However, if one only cultivates the Martial Dao, how can one master other Great Daos?*
Xu Ying was momentarily stumped again. The cultivation speed of the Martial Dao was exceedingly slow; across the entire world, how many possessed the talent, comprehension, and tenacity of Martial Emperor Shen Luo?
Moreover, even if the Martial Dao reached the Immortal realm, it would only grant mastery over the Martial Dao itself, falling short of becoming a Great Dao Lord. Thus, the Martial Dao alone could never reach the tenth layer of the Dao Realm.
*Unless one cultivates other Great Daos to complement it!*
Seeing Xu Ying lost in thought to the point where even his eyeball had stopped moving, the Far Ancestor Big Dragon ventured, "Lord Ying, your other eye..."
A moment later, feeling that just an eye was not enough, the Far Ancestor said, "Lord Ying, lend me your hands. Don't worry, I'll just use them for a bit."
Taking control of Xu Ying's hands, he gently touched the giant skeleton, trying to discern the mysteries of the Dao bone.
"Ying-zi, lend me your legs as well." The Far Ancestor naturally took over his legs.
"Little Ying, you don't need your mouth right now anyway, let me use it." Seizing Xu Ying's mouth, the Far Ancestor abruptly opened it wide, attempting to swallow the skeletal colossus into his stomach to take it back for research.
However, he was ultimately unfamiliar with this body. Though he stretched the mouth as wide as a washbasin, it was far from large enough to swallow the giant skeleton.
Disappointed, the Far Ancestor grumbled, "This skeleton is useless." With that, he walked toward the giant's back.
Everyone was dumbfounded, sensing that Dao Ancestor Xu seemed somewhat different from before.
Emperor Mingdao stepped up to the skeleton, inspected it thoroughly, and found nothing useful, slightly furrowing his brows.
Princess Mingman also walked over to the skeleton, opened her mouth to measure it, and upon realizing she could not swallow it, said, "This skeleton truly is useless."
Following Xu Ying, they walked behind the skeleton. Before their eyes appeared an ancient world pressed down beneath the Chaos Sea.
Towering mountain ranges stretched across this world. The light shed by the Abyss Sea above illuminated the region, allowing the onlookers to sense from afar the peculiar Dao power pervading this ancient land, condensing in pockets to form immortal mountains.
Yuan Weiyang surveyed the surroundings and said, "Where we descended is the Abyss Sea behind the giant skeleton's head. The Abyss Sea is part of the giant skeleton. But this place should not belong to him. In that case, this must be..."
Ahead of them, the Far Ancestor said, "The ruins of a prehistoric civilization. Back during the early Dragon Court era of primeval antiquity, I saw some similar ruins."
Yuan Weiyang looked astonished and hurried to his side. The Far Ancestor pushed her away with his hand and snapped, "Human woman, know your place."
Yuan Weiyang froze.
Princess Mingman quickly sidled up to her and whispered, "Mistress, Master seems like a different person."
Yuan Weiyang felt a chill run through her as suspicions surged. She murmured, "Could he have been possessed when he touched the giant skeleton just now?"
She could not help shivering.
Flanked by numerous dragons, Emperor Mingdao took the lead and stepped into these prehistoric ruins. Here, the crushing pressure of the giant skeleton lessened slightly, and everyone gradually regained a portion of their cultivation.
Many dragons dispersed rather than following Xu Ying and the others, searching the prehistoric ruins to see if any treasures remained.
Ahead stood a stone stele, bearing several lines inscribed in Dao patterns.
The Far Ancestor was not particularly versed in Dao patterns. Glancing back at Yuan Weiyang, who had followed along, he beckoned, "Human woman, come read what is written on this."
Yuan Weiyang walked up to the stele, read it carefully, and exclaimed in surprise, "'Tongtian Sword Master was here.'"
The Far Ancestor asked, "What do the lines below mean?"
Yuan Weiyang continued reading: "'Calamity struck and the former court was destroyed; Hongyuan opened and the Three Realms appeared.'"
The Immortal-Slaying Sword immediately flew out from the Martial Dao cave abyss behind the Far Ancestor's head, circling wildly around the stone stele in sheer excitement.
The Far Ancestor scratched his head and remarked, "This Tongtian Sword Master is quite intriguing to have actually found his way here. Strange, where did he enter from? Could he also have discovered the Abyss Sea? No, there must be another path that leads here!"
He had been in the Abyss Sea all this time. If someone had ascended to the Abyss Sea, it certainly could not have escaped his notice.
Yuan Weiyang, however, stared intently at the word "Hongyuan" on the stele, stormy waves churning in her heart. *What on earth is Hongyuan?*
The final chapter of the Calamity Dispelling Scripture also contained records concerning Hongyuan!
The emergence of the Three Realms was linked to the opening of Hongyuan.
Chapter 712