Chapter 572: Earth Realm
Some still tried to stay to test their luck, but the majority left for other places in the Water Realm while many left it altogether. This was because the best treasures in the Water Realm had been taken by the Thousand Carp River and other treasures were hard to obtain, so they might as well test their luck in other places.
“It’s time to go.” Li Qiye said as he jumped on the big carp. Daoist Bao Gui commanded the carp as it took the river sect’s group into the sky, leaving the pond. It flew very quickly above the vast ocean.
“Young Noble, where do we go next?” Daoist Bao Gui asked.
“You guys got a great harvest this time, and the Prime Ominous Grave will close very soon.” Li Qiye said: “Leave the grave and return to the Thousand Carp River.”
“What about Young Noble?” The daoist asked: “How about we wait here and wait for the closing of the grave? Maybe you will require our assistance in the future.”
Li Qiye narrowed his eyes while gazing at the far horizon and said: “No, you guys won’t be able to help since I plan on going to the Heavenly Cemetery.”
“Heavenly Cemetery? How about I go with you?” Lan Yunzhu quickly said.
“No, I can’t bring you along. I’m going to the path of death so you can’t come; I have to go alone.”
“The path of death in the Heavenly Cemetery!?” Upon hearing this, not just Lan Yunzhu, but the daoist and all the elders were scared out of their minds.
Lan Yunzhu thought she had misheard and tried to clarify: “You really want to go on the path of death? That... is suicidal!”
“Yes. I have to go to the path of death.” Li Qiye seriously nodded his head in response.
The group’s expression greatly changed, and the daoist said with worries: “Young Noble, you’re talking about the path of death, it is hard to leave alive. If you want to train or find a big fortune, then pick the path of life. At the very least, there is a chance of coming out alive even if it is only ten percent. In contrast, the path of death is simply impossible to survive. No one will come out from it.”
“That’s right! Young Noble, just pick the path of life, don’t go to the path of death.” Another high elder of the river sect advised: “There is still a chance to come out of the path of life, but the other one is hopeless.”
The Heavenly Cemetery was located in the Earth Realm, and some called it the center of the entire realm. When someone with the Prime Ominous Key entered, they could exchange it there for a fortune.
There were two entrances, one was the path of life and the other the path of death. Although the former was called the path of life, it was also extremely dangerous with only ten percent of survival. Nevertheless, many experts and geniuses still tried to walk on this road. Besides searching for big fortunes and the mythical method of everlasting life, it was also a great place to train.
But as for the path of death, no one had ever returned alive. No one knew what was inside since it was covered in an aura of death all year round. Some said that it was the lair of evil apparitions, and any trespasser would be killed.
For millions of years, many didn’t believe in such a theory, so they entered only to never come back out, including some invincible existences.
“Don’t try your luck with the path of death, it is just a dead zone.” Venerable Yang was very worried as he said: “There were rumors that someone with the title of Godking had entered, but he never came out as well.”
“I know, the path of death has zero chance for survival.” Li Qiye calmly said: “But I must enter due to some unfinished business. Also, it is only a path of death to others, I will come out alive, don’t worry.”
Daoist Bao Gui’s group noticed that Li Qiye was determined and wouldn’t listen to any advice, so they sighed nonstop. They could only ask him to be careful since they didn’t know what else to say.
“I’ll go with you.” Lan Yunzhu spoke while standing next to him.
“No, I can’t bring you to the path of death since only I can enter.” Li Qiye said as he shook his head.
“Don’t worry, I won’t go on the path of death with you, just to the Earth Realm and the Heavenly Cemetery. You can go by yourself for the rest of the way.” Lan Yunzhu playfully blinked her eyes and continued: “Plus, not seeing the center of the Earth Realm when I’m already here at the Prime Ominous Grave would be a shame. I want to broaden my horizons.”
Li Qiye looked at her for a bit then nodded in agreement. The two then said their goodbyes to the daoist’s group before entering the portal. The daoist then left the grave while Li Qiye and Lan Yunzhu secretly went to the Earth Realm.
Once they arrived, Lan Yunzhu stood there and looked all around. Before her was a vast scene with a heavy scent of the earth. This place was especially dry. However, it was also covered entirely by a layer of fog that didn’t seem to be dissipating at all in the sky.
It consisted of a wide terrain with rolling mountains. There was a grave tablet in the middle of the land. Countless graves were here in this place; some appeared very humble, some were even bigger than mountains, and some stood proudly next to the sky. One of them lingered mysteriously in the high sky while another hung in the middle of two great veins. One was in the middle of a river with its water flowing around and entering it.
To sum it up, there were all types of strange graves. If one could imagine a coffin with a certain design, then they could find it here at the Earth Realm. It was if all graves in the nine worlds were here. Despite the variations in the designs, they all had one thing in common.
All of them had a headstone without any words engraved on it — they were just empty grave tablets. Because of this, no one knew who these graves buried or from which era they originated from.
Lan Yunzhu was quite shaken to see so many graves; how many people were buried here? She took a deep breath and murmured: “Could this be the accumulation of millions of years? Or were they all buried at the same time?”
“No one knows the answer to this. At the very least, since the time when the ghost race discovered this place, there were already millions of graves here. Perhaps they were buried here from many eras ago, or maybe from an even more archaic age. Something happened so countless existences were buried here.” Li Qiye answered after he looked at the grave.
“Which era is this archaic age you speak of?” Lan Yunzhu inquired further.
Li Qiye shook his head in response: “It is hard to know, but at the very least, it is before the Desolate Era, an era that we do not know about. Rumor has it that before anyone knew anything, the Earth Realm had already buried millions of graves here in the Prime Ominous Grave, but no one else could erect a grave here in the future.”
These millions of graves had always been a mystery. No one knew when or how they came to be.
If they were all buried together in one era, then just what had happened to cause so many burials all at once? Just think about it, no one who could be buried here could have been a nameless character, so there should be records about them. However, there were no written records about these graves in the Prime Ominous Grave.
“What kind of characters are buried here?” Lan Yunzhu asked while in a daze.
“I’m afraid no one can give you the answer to this either.” Li Qiye smiled and said while shaking his head: “But there is one thing that’s certain. Anyone who was buried here was extremely amazing when they were alive. This is not only based on the fact that there are great fortunes inside their graves, but because there is a great protective perimeter for each of them. No one except great characters would enjoy such a privilege.”
Li Qiye was correct; there were millions of graves here, but each and every single one was an ominous ground enough to drive people to their doom. Each of them had a powerful defensive force as if there was an Immortal Monarch quietly watching over each grave. Because of this, no one could excavate any of these graves.
There were also other dangers inside these graves, including corpses and guardian mummies.