Eternal Tale

Chapter 239: The Weight of Thousands of Years from the War Realm Camp

Roar!

Xiao Chi let out a startled cry, its fur standing on end as a chilling fear gripped its heart. Flames flared up, striking back at the purple mist.

With a hum, everything shattered. Xiao Chi’s pupils shrank into pinpoints. That terrifying scene from moments ago—it had all been an illusion. Too eerie!

Looking down, Xiao Chi saw that Chen Xun and Brother Ox were still holding their ground, enduring the constant assault. The purple mist seemed endless, flowing from the ancient ship below, or perhaps rising from the depths of the sea itself.

Xiao Chi took a deep breath, deciding to stop investigating the foul bloodstains and instead focus on scavenging the bodies and storage rings.

At the same time, Chen Xun and Brother Ox were also struggling. The distant remnants of ancient wills scattered, each carrying a sorrowful sense of regret and unfulfilled promises…

"Brother Ox, use the Extinguishing Spirit Power and send these ancestors to their rest!"

Chen Xun frowned deeply. All these years of living had never made him so sentimental. "Send them off to their ascension!"

"Moo!!"

Brother Ox activated his divine apertures, and dark energy surged from the towering figure behind him, descending upon the purple mist. The scene was terrifying!

Chen Xun snorted coldly. He stopped holding back, fully unleashing his divine apertures. Extinguishing Spirit Power surged madly, radiating dark beams that shot in all directions, clashing with the ancient will and the purple mist!

Boom! Boom!

The sea roared, waves surged violently, and the terrifying power of the Extinguishing Spirit descended like a sea of lightning, forcibly dispersing the purple mist. The surrounding ocean boiled and rolled.

The purple mist tried to rise again, but it was utterly obliterated by the dark radiance, no longer slowly dissolved by the Five Elements power.

Chen Xun narrowed his eyes slightly. They were only delaying the inevitable. Unless they destroyed this ancient ship entirely, the purple mist would keep regenerating. Still, it was no longer a threat to them.

“Moo?”

“Brother Ox, this ship is suspicious. It doesn’t seem like it came from a cultivator’s battlefield. That dried black blood doesn’t seem to be human blood either.”

Chen Xun’s gaze shifted upwards as he continued channeling the Extinguishing Spirit Power. “This ship is huge, but we’ve already subdued it. Now we leave the rest to Xiao Chi.”

“Moo!” Brother Ox glanced upward briefly. Everything was under control.

Hum—

Suddenly, a deep, resounding hum echoed from within the ancient ship. It seemed as though the ship itself was coming to life, a terrifying will stirring from deep within.

“Chen Xun! Brother Ox! Run!”

Xiao Chi’s shrill, excited shout echoed as it dropped down from above, “I got a storage ring!!”

“Damn it, Brother Ox! Xiao Chi, run!”

“Moo!!”

Hum—Hum—

Brother Ox caught Xiao Chi, and in an instant, they vanished from the sea’s surface. The giant boat roared to life, churning the ocean as it sped away at full throttle!

Boom!

Just as they escaped, the ancient ship began to glow with a ghostly light. The surrounding sea boiled and evaporated under the weight of the ship’s terrifying killing intent, its will emanating battle-hardened determination.

A colossal will awakened briefly but, unable to find its target, gradually settled back into silence. The ancient ship once again drifted through the forbidden sea, like a lost soul searching for its way home.

Within the Forbidden Sea.

A giant boat plowed through the waves at full speed, carrying with it three ecstatic figures.

Sitting under the Five Elements Spirit Tree, their eyes were glued to a storage ring, unable to tear themselves away from it. One look, and it was clear this storage ring was incredibly ancient, its engravings unlike anything seen today.

“Xiao Chi, how did you get this?”

“Chen Xun, this storage ring was hidden deep within the ship. I found it in the hand of a skeleton inside the ship’s cabin.”

“A skeleton inside?”

“Moo?”

Chen Xun and Brother Ox exchanged glances. Outside, all they saw were bloodstains—they didn’t spot any bodies.

“There were some on the inside, but I didn’t dare venture deeper. The moment I grabbed the storage ring, something terrifying started to awaken.”

Xiao Chi’s voice trembled as it recalled the event, its head shrinking slightly. The more it thought about it, the more it realized how close it had come to disaster. “Chen Xun, I really did my best...”

“Well done, Xiao Chi. But how is it that your Flameglow Divine Sense works so well in this Forbidden Sea?”

Chen Xun mused, a thoughtful look in his eyes as he stared at Xiao Chi. “Is the Flameglow Ancient Lion a native species of this world’s cultivation realm?”

Brother Ox was confused. What did this mean?

"Isn't it, Chen Xun?"

"Did you know there's a world outside this one? A greater world?"

Chen Xun’s frown deepened. “And as for these lingering wills—they don’t seem to be remnants of a battle involving cultivators. Everyone says this is a battlefield from ancient times, but what truly happened here? No one knows for sure.”

Xiao Chi’s mouth gaped, its eyes nearly shrinking to pinpoints. What was Chen Xun talking about...?

“Your divine sense is incredibly unique, Xiao Chi. Especially after your cultivation, it's surpassed even your natural limits. Just in terms of perception alone, Brother Ox and I can't compare. And we’ve cultivated our divine senses, too.”

Chen Xun grinned as he explained. “The talent gap between species really isn’t something that can be easily closed, no matter how hard one works.”

Xiao Chi nodded blankly, vaguely understanding. In the Heaven’s End Plains, none of the other beasts could cultivate divine sense. The Flameglow Ancient Lion had always been an oddity among spirit beasts, though it had faced countless hardships because of it.

Turning to Brother Ox, Chen Xun changed the subject.

"Brother Ox, what about that will inside the ship at the end? Could we have beaten it?"

“Moo!”

Brother Ox hesitated for a moment, then shook his head vigorously. If they could have fought it, they wouldn’t have rushed to escape.

Their strength was still being suppressed here. This wasn’t like Qian Country’s cultivation world, where they could act with impunity.

"Brother Ox, what do we do with this storage ring?" Xiao Chi blinked, unsure if there were still any hidden traps inside.

“Moo~”

Brother Ox’s eyes gleamed as he examined the ancient storage ring. The seals and formations had long since been worn away by time, leaving it safe to open.

They all peered inside with their divine senses, and simultaneously let out a gasp.

The storage space was enormous, far larger than the storage rings they had received from Jin Yu, but it was nearly empty. Most of what remained had been reduced to ashes.

“A ‘War Realm Camp’?”

Chen Xun muttered as he pulled out a blood-red token. It was hard to tell what material it was made from, but it had remained intact despite the passage of time.

“Chen Xun, what is that?”

“Moo?”

Xiao Chi and Brother Ox looked at him with confusion. This was clearly an item meant for humans.

“It looks like something used in an ancient military camp. I’m not entirely sure.”

Chen Xun shook his head. “Let’s just focus on the other items for now. These things are from a long-gone era, buried in time. We don’t need to dwell on them—they don’t concern us.”

Brother Ox and Xiao Chi both nodded, agreeing not to overthink it as they continued inspecting the contents of the storage ring.

There was no spirit stone inside, but there was an unsent blood-written letter, penned with someone’s life essence. The writing had faded significantly over time.

Chen Xun read aloud, his voice low:

“Yue’er... the path ahead for the cultivation world and for Da Li... needs us…”

The letter was short and seemed hastily written as if there hadn’t been time to send it. That was all they could make out.

Though brief, it carried a heavy weight of sorrow and despair. Even after thousands or perhaps tens of thousands of years, the emotions within had crossed the river of time, resonating in Chen Xun’s mind.

His pupils constricted slightly as he fell silent, carefully stowing away the blood letter.

Xiao Chi sighed. The storage ring didn’t contain anything valuable. Not even close to what the demonic cultivators had. This gamble seemed like a loss.

“Moo?” Brother Ox nudged Chen Xun, sensing something off in his mood.

Chen Xun patted Brother Ox’s head and chuckled softly. His eyes were filled with deep contemplation, as though lost in thought. He no longer seemed interested in the storage ring.

“Chen Xun, this ancient ship may be impressive, but there’s nothing worth taking.”

“What do you know, Xiao Chi? Knowledge is worth more than spirit stones!”

Chen Xun scolded playfully, grabbing Xiao Chi and tucking him under his arm. “We’ll take it slow—there’s no rush. Now that Brother Ox and I have found a way to deal with the purple mist, everything here is ours.”

“Moo!” Brother Ox stamped the ground. The Extinguishing Spirit Power was proving to be the ultimate counter to the purple mist.

“Chen Xun! Brother Ox! You’re invincible!” Xiao Chi cheered.

"Let's go, brothers. Keep looting!"

Chen Xun strolled forward confidently, eyes fixed on the horizon. “Xiao Chi, point the way…”

Roar!

“Moo!”

Brother Ox and Xiao Chi each took their positions—one guiding, the other steering the boat. Meanwhile, Chen Xun stood at the helm, recording their journey in his notebook.