Chapter 1427: Ascend to the Heavens with Steady Steps

The star field nearby shimmered brilliantly as Ye Guan and Sui Gujin walked at a leisurely pace across the Genesis Starry Region.

Ye Guan was clad in a clean white robe that was tied at the waist with a purple silk belt. A faint smile tugged at his lips. Perhaps due to his extensive reading, he carried almost no trace of a swordsman; there was no sharpness to his demeanor.

Instead, his scholarly air was more pronounced. In addition to the fact that he was quite handsome, his every word and action appeared refined, setting him apart from ordinary men.

Beside him, Sui Gujin was dressed in a flowing black dress that looked as if it were made out of solid ink. The fabric had no patterns, making her emanate a solemn aura. Given her usual taciturn nature and the ever-cold gaze in her eyes, she appeared incredibly distant, seemingly rejecting everyone around her.

Suddenly, Ye Guan said, "Miss Sui, I'd like to ask you about something."

Sui Gujin responded, "You want to ask about the three great civilizations of the Old Lands and their rulers?"

Ye Guan turned to look at the stunning lady beside him. It seemed like she could read his mind.

Sui Gujin ignored his gaze and calmly said, "In their eyes, the civilization they left behind no longer matters."

Ye Guan solemnly asked, "Because they advanced too quickly?"

"It's because they traveled too far away," Sui Gujin said, shaking her head. "They are now so distant from us that their past civilization has become nothing more than a burden."

Ye Guan murmured, "The path of martial cultivation is ultimately lonely. The farther one goes, the fewer people will remain by their side."

Sui Gujin suddenly said, "Ascend to the heavens with steady steps, and cherish not the days of playing with mud as a child."

Ye Guan turned to her, but she remained silent.

Ye Guan smiled faintly. "Still, one must at least try."

Sui Gujin nodded without further persuasion. Some things could not be explained in advance; only when the moment arrived would one truly understand that what they had imagined was often different from the path they had to walk on.

Ye Guan asked, "Miss Sui, I'd really like to hear your thoughts on the Order I'm trying to establish."

Sui Gujin said nothing.

Ye Guan pressed, "Feel free to speak."

Still, Sui Gujin shook her head.

Ye Guan nodded and did not insist. "Alright."

Sui Gujin lifted her gaze toward the distance. At the far end of their vision, a beam of starlight suddenly appeared. The next instant, the starlight materialized before them, revealing a lady in black. She bowed respectfully to Sui Gujin. "Pavilion Master."

Sui Gujin nodded.

The lady in black said, "Per your orders, we have not sealed the entrance to that Immortal Domain Secret Realm. In the meantime, countless people have ventured inside, but not a single one has returned; all have perished within."

Sui Gujin asked, "Did any of our people go inside?"

The lady in black shook her head. "No."

Sui Gujin nodded slightly. "You may leave."

The lady bowed deeply before vanishing into thin air.

Ye Guan and Sui Gujin continued walking away.

Ye Guan suddenly asked, "Miss Sui, has Shang Hongyi made any moves?"

"No."

Ye Guan's expression darkened. That lady was likely plotting something massive.

Sui Gujin said, "Adapt to all changes by remaining unchanged."

Ye Guan nodded. "That's all we can do."

Before long, the two arrived deep within a vast mountain range. Standing atop a towering peak, they looked out into the distance, where a massive stone gate stretched from east to west, seemingly blotting out the skies.

The stone gate was weathered and dilapidated, and beyond it lay an expanse of void. Ye Guan extended his divine sense, but the moment it entered the gate, it vanished without a trace.

Ye Guan was taken aback.

Sui Gujin said, "Let's go."

The two disappeared into thin air.

When they reappeared, they appeared directly before the massive stone gate. Up close, it was even more majestic.

Ye Guan studied the gate carefully. Ancient carvings adorned its surface, depicting figures clad in animal pelts, holding torches as they gazed upon a wall.

Around them, many cultivators stood observing the scene. Their auras were formidable, yet none dared to step inside.

Since the secret realm's discovery, over ten thousand cultivators—some Emperor Lords had entered, but not a single one of them had come out alive.

Sui Gujin said, "Let's go."

With that, she and Ye Guan vanished through the gate.

"Two more headed to their deaths..."

The crowd shook their heads.

***

An unknown amount of time later, Ye Guan and Sui Gujin appeared in an ancient city. The city was in ruins, devastated as if it had suffered a great war.

The two walked down the streets of the deathly silent ancient city. Ye Guan looked around with his divine sense, but he was shocked to find that it was useless in this place.

Sui Gujin looked around, and her delicate brows furrowed.

"

Ah!

" A piercing scream suddenly rang out from the end of the distant street.

Ye Guan looked toward the end of the street but saw nothing.

The two quickened their pace. Soon, they reached the end of the street, where they found a series of ancient bronze-colored stone steps stacked atop one another, leading upward for tens of thousands of steps. At the very top of the staircase was an ancient bronze palace suspended in the skies.

A man sprawled out on the ground, wailing in agony, was in front of the stone steps. A massive hole was in his chest, and within it burned a bronze-colored flame. The flame was slowly consuming his fleshly body and soul.

Ye Guan was slightly surprised upon seeing the man. After all, he was an Emperor Lord.

The man looked at Ye Guan and Sui Gujin as if he were staring at his benefactors. He opened his mouth to speak, but the next moment, his fleshly body and soul were reduced to ashes.

Sizzle!

That bronze-colored flame suddenly shot toward Sui Gujin like a bolt of lightning.

Ye Guan's heart trembled, and he immediately pulled Sui Gujin behind him before thrusting his sword forward.

Boom!

The bronze-colored flame was pinned in place by his strike, but in an instant, it spread across the Qingxuan Sword, attempting to burn it to ashes.

Ye Guan let go of the Qingxuan Sword, allowing it to burn freely.

After a while, the flame seemed to realize its efforts were futile and transformed into a streak of fire, flying back to the ancient bronze palace, where it landed steadily on one of the stone pillars in front of the hall.

Ye Guan looked up. In front of the palace stood four stone pillars, each with a floating flame of a different color. The foremost two flames were bronze and sky-blue, while the two behind them were blood-red and black-gold.

Staring at the four stone pillars, Ye Guan was puzzled. "What are those things?"

Sui Gujin said, "Let's go and take a look."

Ye Guan nodded. "Alright."

The two began ascending the steps. The moment they stepped onto them, a wave of sky-blue flames rushed toward them from the top of the stairs.

Ye Guan narrowed his eyes and flicked his sleeve. The Qingxuan Sword slashed out.

Sizzle!

The attack tore open a massive gap in the sky-blue flames.

Ye Guan and Sui Gujin took another step forward and found themselves before the ancient bronze palace.

As soon as they appeared in front of the ancient bronze palace, the four flames surged from the stone pillars, rushing toward Ye Guan and Sui Gujin to reduce them to ashes.

Ye Guan's eyes narrowed. He held his sword in front of his chest, and countless strands of sword intent infused with the power of Order erupted from him, repelling the four flames.

However, the flames refused to give up and surged toward them once more.

Ye Guan twisted his right hand sharply, releasing a terrifying sword aura that sent the four flames flying away.

The flames prepared to attack again when Ye Guan opened his palm.

The tiny pagoda appeared in his hand, and he roared, "Absorb!"

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

A golden light shone, and in an instant, the four flames were sucked into the Little Pagoda and suppressed.

Sui Gujin glanced at Ye Guan.

Ye Guan examined the tiny pagoda in his hand and smiled.

Ever since my father upgraded my pagoda, it's become drastically different.

After the upgrade, the tiny pagoda obtained a heaven-defying ability—the ability to absorb anything. Anything he absorbed would be suppressed.

Little Pagoda now had his own unique Dao—Pagoda Dao!

However, he still needed to comprehend and cultivate this Dao on his own. Ye Guan's father had decided to lend a hand, and as for how much he could ultimately comprehend, it depended on Master Pagoda himself.

For example, Little Pagoda still couldn't absorb the Qingxuan Sword.

Ye Guan turned his gaze toward the palace's tightly shut doors. He handed the tiny pagoda to Sui Gujin and said, "Take this."

Sui Gujin looked at him without speaking.

Ye Guan directly placed the pagoda in her hand. "I upgraded it, and its defensive strength has greatly improved. If anything happens, it can protect you."

With that, he gripped the Qingxuan Sword and walked toward the massive bronze doors.

Since his divine sense was useless here, he couldn't sense what was beyond the doors. He felt a sense of foreboding. Even while wielding the Qingxuan Sword, he still felt uneasy. There was no doubt about it—danger lay beyond the doors.

Still, he had gotten even stronger, so he wasn't exactly afraid. He held the Qingxuan Sword and thrust it fiercely toward the bronze doors.

Boom!

A deafening explosion echoed. The doors trembled violently, and cracks rapidly spread across them.

Ye Guan narrowed his eyes and twisted his sword, ready to shatter the doors completely.

Just then, the entire bronze palace trembled violently.

Ye Guan suddenly sensed something and immediately retreated to Sui Gujin's side. He grabbed her and turned around to flee.

Swoosh!

A bronze spear shot out from within the palace, instantly closing in on them.

Ye Guan spun around and raised his sword to block.

Boom!

Ye Guan's sword light shattered.

Ye Guan and Sui Gujin were blasted out of the ancient city entirely. They crashed heavily onto the ground, causing the earth to collapse into a massive abyss.

Just then, a foot stepped out of the ancient bronze palace.

As soon as that foot landed, a terrifying pressure spread outward, covering the entire starry domain spanning billions of miles. At the same time, every living being within the starry domain had their cultivation base suppressed to nothing!

With just a single step... billions of beings lost their cultivation base!