Eternal Tale

”The ox has appeared, attacking with spiritual power.” Chen Xun’s gaze sharpened, and he spoke gravely, ”The stabbing pain just now in my spiritual sense, and the fact that your formation couldn’t block it—there’s only one explanation.”

”Moo!” The big black ox took a deep breath; this was the first time it had encountered something like this in all its years.

However, once they donned their bandit gear, the ominous wind could no longer penetrate their spiritual defenses.

At the rear of the ship, the Five Elements Crane Spirit Tree swayed with the wind. Silently, the tree emitted a faint glow, which vanished as quickly as it appeared.

The world grew darker and darker, no longer filled with sweeping yellow sands.

The eerie wind wrapped around the heavens and earth as the massive airship slowly sailed inward. Standing at the ship’s prow, Chen Xun and the big black ox gazed into the distance, fearless and unflinching.

A month later.

Both Chen Xun and the big black ox’s eyes widened in shock. Their mouths hung open as something before them shook these thousand-year-old beings to their core.

”Holy... crap!!!”

”Moo!!!”

The exclamations echoed as the massive ship came to a halt in the sky, no longer moving forward.

From this aerial vantage point, they looked down to see the land torn asunder, revealing a gigantic, unfathomable Plains. The eerie wind that blew through the area came from this abyss.

It was as if they stood at the edge of a cliff, but the other side of the precipice was nowhere to be seen. The earth’s path was brutally severed, just like... a celestial divide!

Chen Xun and the big black ox gasped. What kind of wondrous natural spectacle was this? How were they supposed to cross?

They were only at the edge, and even from here, they couldn’t see the other side of the Plains. It was beyond imagination, stretching endlessly into the unknown.

”Old Ox, take notes! Record this, dammit, make a sketch—holy crap!” Chen Xun was so excited he could barely speak coherently, his heart filled with exhilaration rather than fear. ”Incredible, worth every minute of living!”

”Moo~~” The big black ox’s eyes bulged like copper bells, still in awe. They had been to many cliffs, but none that had ever left such an impression on its ox heart.

For an ordinary cultivator, merely approaching this place would likely result in their spiritual sense being shattered by the ominous wind, causing instant death.

Chen Xun’s hands trembled as he pulled out a sketchpad and a small booklet. The big black ox rested its head on his shoulder. Despite the peril of this place, they found themselves admiring the view, already beyond the realm of an ordinary cultivator’s imagination.

The ominous wind brushed against their bandit outfits like a gentle breeze, barely an inconvenience. To Chen Xun and the big black ox, it was a weakling of an opponent.

”Wait, this is a power that can destroy spiritual senses.” Chen Xun suddenly tensed, his brow furrowed. ”Old Ox, do you remember how Jin Yu died?”

”Moo!” The big black ox locked eyes with Chen Xun. They had carefully studied Jin Yu’s Nascent Soul when he passed away.

”By all accounts, a cultivator’s Nascent Soul should be able to escape in time. Jin Yu’s showed no sign of attempting to flee.”

Chen Xun grew more pensive, his frown deepening. ”And that night, when we ventured to the northern region, something wasn’t right. There was a mountain.”

The big black ox snorted. Their spiritual senses couldn’t penetrate the area, and they still had no idea what lay within.

However, they had gone there only to retrieve bodies, not to start a major conflict.

As long as they didn’t overstep boundaries, both sides maintained mutual respect. After all, they didn’t want the northern spirit beasts to go berserk once they left.

”That night, I wasn’t entirely confident. Whatever, they’re probably guarding something.” Chen Xun sneered, his eyes cold. ”When our strength grows, we’ll return and settle the score. I don’t take action unless I’m certain.”

”Moo!” The big black ox grinned. Big Brother was right.

”But the restrictions on spiritual power here are intense. Something must be causing this.” Chen Xun gazed into the dark abyss. ”Who knows what kind of demons or monsters lurk down there? Old Ox, proceed with caution.”

The big black ox glanced around. Their spiritual sense was limited to a mere mile radius, unable to stretch any further.

Chen Xun stowed away his sketchpad and booklet. This place might be connected to the spirit beasts of the northern region.

”Moo~~” The big black ox pulled out a simple herb, examining it.

”What’s up, Old Ox?”

”Moo?”

”Hmm?”

Suddenly, Chen Xun slapped the big black ox and shouted, ”Old Ox, what made you think of this?”

The big black ox cast a sideways glance at Chen Xun. Weren’t they originally investigating what was corrupting the spiritual energy in the Tian Duan Plains?

Now that they were no longer affected by the spiritual energy, they couldn’t feel the corruption, so they used the herb as a substitute.

”Damn, Old Ox, you’ve got three-tenths of my brains!” ”Moo~”

The big black ox suddenly burst into laughter, feeling much smarter than before.

As the ominous wind blew over the herb, its medicinal properties visibly drained away. In less than an hour, the century-old herb lost all its spiritual energy.

Chen Xun and the big black ox exchanged glances—one, two, three times...

”So it’s this stuff that’s corrupting the spiritual energy.”

”Moo~”

”Wait, when we were in the Tian Duan Plains, there wasn’t any of this wind. There’s more going on here.”

”Moo~”

The big black ox nodded repeatedly. Even the underground had no spiritual energy.

”It must be some long-term process. This place is incredibly vast—who knows how long this Tian Duan Plains has existed.” Chen Xun cursed, ”This is insane! Is this how the Tian Duan Plains came to be?”

”Moo?”

”Old Ox, does anyone in our cultivation world even know how the Tian Duan Plains were formed? There’s no mention of it in any texts, right?”

”Moo?”

”That means the name must have come from that superpower on the other side of the Tian Duan Plains. They even cut off our large teleportation arrays.” Chen Xun shook his head in amazement. ”Who knows what happened back then? Fascinating stuff.”

The big black ox finally understood. It seemed that the superpower knew about all this, and their cultivation world had been abandoned.

”Old Ox, let’s go down and have a look. If it gets dangerous, we’ll bail.”

”Moo!”

In an instant, they stowed away their airship. They had already refined it with two Wood Nascent Souls, nurturing it whenever they had time.

Now, Chen Xun and the big black ox stood at the edge of the Tian Duan Plains, dwarfed by its immensity.

They stared into the abyss, where gusts of ominous wind surged upwards as if the Plains itself were gazing back at them.

Chen Xun and the big black ox stepped into the void, plunging into the depths of the Plains!

Inside, it was pitch dark. The ominous wind howled, but it didn’t affect the vision of Nascent Soul cultivators—only their spiritual senses were suppressed.

”Old Ox, what is this stuff? It doesn’t seem like soil.” Chen Xun advanced cautiously, observing the pitch-black walls of the Plains. ”This place feels like a completely different world from the outside.”

The big black ox sniffed the walls, discovering they weren’t made of dirt but of some kind of stone, altered by the long-term effects of the wind.

Boom!

Chen Xun punched the wall, causing a thunderous rumble. Stones crumbled down, but there was no echo. The depth of the Plains was unfathomable.

”What the hell is this? Some kind of ore?”

”Moo?!”

The big black ox’s eyes lit up. Could it be they had finally stumbled upon an unclaimed ore vein?!

Chen Xun squinted and picked up a chunk of rock, studying it closely. With a gentle squeeze, it crumbled to dust. His expression soured,

”Old Ox, it’s just ordinary rock, altered by the years of ominous wind.”

”Moo~~” The big black ox sighed, its dreams of striking it rich dashed.

”What’s that look for?”

Chen Xun raised an eyebrow and gave the big black ox a firm slap. ”We’ve barely explored anything, and you’re already losing enthusiasm?”

”Moo?” The big black ox jolted awake from the slap.

”This place is unclaimed territory—who knows what treasures might be hidden here? According to the Holy Sage’s rule of ’first come, first served’...” Chen Xun paused for effect, then adjusted his robe and folded his hands behind his back. ”Old Ox, are you familiar with the rule of rounding up? This place basically belongs to us!”

”Moo?!” The big black ox’s eyes widened in shock. ”Moo moo moo???”

”Heh, it’s been two thousand years, and do you think anyone knows what we’ve been through? We haven’t even found a single chunk of iron essence, dammit!” Chen Xun suddenly grew angry, then melancholic. ”But now, the heavens are finally on our side. They’ve seen our sincerity. This place is ours—anyone who comes will die!”

”Moo!!!” The big black ox raised its head and roared, rubbing its head excitedly against Chen Xun. It wanted Big Brother to teach it the art of rounding up—Chen Xun had never explained it before.

”Heh, Old Ox, stick with me, and you’ll learn plenty. The Great Dao’s teachings are vast.”

”Moo!!”

The big black ox was overwhelmed with excitement as Chen Xun held its head, boastfully exaggerating as they slowly descended deeper.

This place was devoid of both spiritual energy and spiritual senses—a graveyard for countless cultivators, capable of destroying an entire cultivation world. It was truly a place of great danger.

And yet, the man and ox felt perfectly at ease, punching walls and examining stones with casual interest, calm and unhurried.