NOVPUBThe events that had just unfolded felt like a dream, giving one a sense of unreality.
For endless eons, the supreme being of the previous great epoch, the Ice Emperor, had crossed the boundless span of time and space to meet with a junior like Gu Chen, a truth that was hard to believe.
At this moment, Gu Chen’s expression was dazed, still somewhat lost in trance, immersed in the scene that had just transpired, struggling to pull himself out of it.
"What exactly happened to the Ice Emperor and the others in the last epoch that caused them to become the losers?" Gu Chen frowned deeply.
"Disaster befalls all worlds, worlds wither away, everything turns to dust?" Gu Chen was solemn, very curious about what the Ice Emperor and his contemporaries had encountered at the end of the last great epoch.
Then, his gaze shifted, turning to look at the fragmented jade in his hand.
"The ultimate chapter of the strongest throughout the ages, the taboo inheritance?" Gu Chen’s heart throbbed; could the legacy contained within this fragmented jade be even more astonishing than all the teachings of the Ice Emperor’s lifetime combined?
"Could it help one achieve the ethereal existence of a deity?"
The fragmented jade in Gu Chen’s hand, according to the information left by the Ice Emperor, originated from a more ancient era, perhaps dating back to the birth of the heavens and the beginning of the universe!
It could be said that this ancient jade had persisted through countless eons, incredibly ancient.
The Ice Emperor and others speculated that after this inheritance descended into the world, perhaps it was too heaven-defying, and heaven did not allow its existence, thus imposing a heavenly punishment, shattering it into four pieces.
In Gu Chen’s hand was one of those pieces.
In other words, only by gathering all four pieces could one unlock the so-called ultimate chapter and obtain this most powerful legacy of all ages.
But, throughout ancient and modern times, it seems no one has been able to gather them all, or perhaps someone did, but in the end, the jade shattered again.
After all, it was far too ancient; the era it came from is beyond investigation, and even existences like the Ice Emperor or those close to him could not fully understand the specifics.
"It really is quite ancient." Gu Chen murmured softly, looking at the piece of fragmented jade in his hand, which was indeed very extraordinary.
Even without considering its background, the mere fact that it could help cultivators enter a state of enlightenment was already exceptionally rare and invaluable.
As for whether he could gather all the pieces, even Gu Chen did not have much confidence; that was something to be discussed later.
So, he flipped his palm and tucked away the fragmented jade, then scanned the surrounding hall to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.
"It seems this is all that the Ice Emperor left behind." Gu Chen actually felt a bit regretful for not having received the Ice Emperor’s inheritance.
But there was no helping it. He had already obtained a lot here: Heavenly Origin Liquid, Source Ice Breath, Breakthrough Pill, and the fragmented jade that could assist in enlightenment, and even his martial realm had reached the limits of the martial arts domain.
"It’s time to leave; Qinyan might be getting anxious." Gu Chen said to himself.
The next moment, as soon as the thought arose in Gu Chen’s mind, ripples spread in the surrounding void, and a wave of spatial fluctuation enveloped him completely.
In an instant, Gu Chen completely disappeared from this place, returning to the Frosty Island.
And just after Gu Chen left, this former residence of the Ice Emperor, starting from the great hall, began to crumble bit by bit, gradually vanishing, and soon turned into ashes, merging with the endless void.
This place of inheritance, which had existed for several epochs, had completed its mission and, in silence, dissipated completely, following after the Ice Emperor.
...
In the depths of Frosty Island, by the side of the Mystic Ice Pool, Gu Qingyan was sitting here quietly, waiting for Gu Chen to return.
Whoosh!
The next moment, space twisted, and a man with a slender figure, dressed in mysterious clothes and with hair black as ink, handsome and striking, appeared close to Gu Qingyan. It was undoubtedly Gu Chen, who had just left the inheritance site.
"Big brother, you’re back?!" At that moment, seeing Gu Chen return safely, Gu Qingyan’s beautiful eyes showed deep surprise and joy.
"Mhm." Gu Chen nodded slightly, temporarily setting aside the jumbled thoughts in his mind.
However, just as he was about to share some information with Gu Qingyan that he could reveal, she raised her hand to stop him.
"I know big brother, you must have learned many secrets at the inheritance site, but you don’t need to tell me everything. Some things are best known by you alone," Gu Qingyan said.
Hearing this, Gu Chen was slightly taken aback, understanding Gu Qingyan’s concerns.
She was worried that, once they returned to their sect, the Frost Soul Sect’s sect master, Mu Han, or others would ask questions, and Gu Qingyan, not being good at lying, would find it difficult to conceal what she knew. The more she knew, the more likely it would be exposed.
Moreover, once one’s cultivation level reached a certain extent, it was possible to forcibly search one’s soul, or even silently steal someone’s memories. Such occurrences were not unheard of.
Therefore, Gu Qingyan felt it was better for her to know as little as possible about Gu Chen’s secrets.
"Some things, big brother, are enough for you to know alone and don’t need to be revealed to others, even if we are your family," Gu Qingyan said.
"I understand." Gu Chen nodded lightly and said, "How long was I gone?"
Gu Qingyan’s pretty face was pure white, her skin flawless like white jade, and she spoke softly, "It’s all right, about a day or so."
Gu Chen nodded, noting that the flow of time in the inheritance site seemed to be the same as on Tian Yuan Island, without any difference.
This showed just how precious the ability of the Zhou Ding was.
Controlling time was not something anyone could do, and the higher one’s cultivation level, the more terrifying the power of time was known to be.
The exploration time for Tian Yuan Island lasted about three days from opening to closing. Now, calculating the time, they had more than half a day left before they must leave the island.
This time, from the moment he set foot on the island to now, Gu Chen’s gains were indeed plentiful, acquiring many treasures and even divine powers.
Including his cultivation level, which had reached the pinnacle of the martial arts realm in less than three months since coming to the upper realm—a truly rapid advancement.
If they were in Jiuzhou, this would have been impossible.
At this moment, Gu Chen seemed to have remembered something. He took out the largest capacity storage device he had and handed it to Gu Qingyan.
"What is this?" Initially perplexed, Gu Qingyan’s confusion turned to shock as soon as she took it and her divine consciousness probed inside to discover its contents.
"How... How can there be so much Heavenly Origin Liquid?!" Gu Qingyan’s beautiful eyes widened, her exquisite, fair face full of astonishment as she looked at Gu Chen, puzzled.
Gu Chen smiled slightly and didn’t explain much. He had "robbed the rich to help the poor" many times, and so he had acquired quite a few storage bags. The one he gave to Gu Qinyan was large and filled with a hefty amount of Heavenly Origin Liquid, enough for her to use for a long time.
Still, what he gave her was but a drop in the ocean compared to what he had obtained.
Gu Qingyan was truly startled, the Heavenly Origin Liquid, which was sold by the drop outside, was given to her in such quantities by her own brother—an unimaginably precious fortune!
Even for the Frost Soul Sect, once a colossal power in the upper realm, gathering all the Heavenly Origin Liquid reserves within the sect would still be hard pressed to match this amount.
