Chapter 1371: Formless Purgatory

The silver color...

Fang Chen knew very well how difficult it was to obtain a silver jade token in the assessment.

If he hadn't possessed many trump cards and were merely an ordinary cultivator at the peak of the Dao Union Realm, he would not have lasted more than three to five moves against Little Immortal Honglian. And if those at the peak of the Dao Union Realm were divided into ten grades, then Little Immortal Honglian would rank at level seven.

Those who could obtain the bronze jade token would be level eight. Then came the silver jade token, level nine. And the golden jade token represented level ten.

As for the purple jade token, cultivators who reached that level could already cross realms to fight Tribulation Realm cultivators. They no longer fell within that classification.

As for Fang Chen himself, his strength had already surpassed the scope of the ten levels.

The Enlightenment God Palace was one of the top forces in the Upper Three Realms, yet even there, very few had ever obtained a purple jade token over the years. That meant those at that level stood at the absolute pinnacle of the Nine Mortal Realms, superior to ninety-nine percent of the Enlightenment God Palace's core disciples.

If Fang Chen had unleashed his full power during the assessment and seized a purple jade token, he would have immediately become a core disciple. But doing so would have been the same as standing naked under a spotlight, drawing countless eyes to him—including, perhaps, those like Wang Chongsong.

As for Yu Tiange, who had managed to obtain a silver jade token, he was only one step away from becoming a core disciple of the Enlightenment God Palace. That alone spoke volumes about his talent and background.

"I've heard of you, Fellow Daoist Fang," Yu Tiange said with a warm smile. "In our batch, only 23 geniuses obtained bronze jade tokens. You were one of them."

As he spoke, he gestured toward the Immortal Boats behind him. Only then did the crowd realize that on those Immortal Boats stood many cultivators at the Tribulation Realm, each with a bronze jade token hanging at their waist. There were as many as eight or nine of them!

"

Captain, I think they're planning to recruit us,

" Lin Yuan transmitted telepathically.

Fang Chen wore a composed expression, merely cupping his hands toward Yu Tiange. "Fellow Daoist Yu, may I ask your purpose in coming here?"

"I want to form a temporary team with myself as the leader," Yu Tiange said straightforwardly. "This time, a major incident has occurred within the Ancient Forbidden Zone. For us, it doesn't matter much. We can't touch the core of it. But even if we just scoop some benefits from the edges, the harvest might exceed that of ten expeditions combined."

"I've just seen that you obtained a fourth transformation immortal herb during your last exploration, proving that you have luck on your side. You have both strength and fortune. If you join my team, it'll give us all more security during the chaos, more safety in the midst of battle."

"So why not?"

Fang Chen nodded without hesitation. "Alright, I'll join."

Yu Tiange was clearly taken aback. He hadn't expected Fang Chen to agree so readily. When he had tried recruiting others earlier, those who had earned bronze jade tokens were all somewhat proud and had acted reserved.

But now, seeing Fang Chen's decisiveness, Yu Tiange's gaze softened. For such a clear-headed and pragmatic cultivator, he was more than happy to be friends.

Immediately after, he invited Fang Chen aboard his Immortal Boat and called the others over as well.

When everyone gathered before Yu Tiange, they might have felt inferior to him, but since they were all bronze token holders, there was a touch of competitiveness in their gazes. Some even showed faint intent to challenge the rest.

Yu Tiange held a brief meeting and instructed everyone to keep their Immortal Boats traveling in formation. If a battle broke out that even required their involvement, they were to follow his lead and form a battle formation.

These expedition captains had all broken through to the Tribulation Realm during their journey to the expedition stars.

Thus, while a bunch of Tribulation Realm cultivators leading a group of Dao Union Realm cultivators wasn't particularly impressive within the grand army, they still had some measure of self-defense in smaller-scale skirmishes.

When Fang Chen returned to his own Immortal Boat and relayed the meeting's details, everyone expressed no objections.

"This Fellow Daoist Yu has a silver jade token to lead the way. He'll soon form a rather large team. For us, it's nothing but beneficial," Meng Qingling said.

Watching Yu Tiange continue to recruit more people, she couldn't help stealing a few glances at the jade token hanging at his waist.

Li Shanzi's voice came from aboard the Black Dragon. "Next, we'll move at full speed toward the core region of the 157th Ancient Forbidden Zone, the Formless Purgatory."

Before anyone could react, a massive light barrier rose from the Black Dragon and instantly enveloped the thousands of Immortal Boats around it.

"Our Immortal Boat's no longer under our control!" Little Immortal Honglian said softly.

Everyone's expressions changed.

Fang Chen glanced at the core of the Essence Long, and sure enough, its power was linked directly to the Black Dragon.

"It seems that the Immortal Boats of the auxiliary members can be fully requisitioned by the core disciples at any moment. They were originally designed as extensions of the core disciples' Immortal Boats..."

The Essence Long was now completely out of their control. It pressed tightly against the nearby boats, ultimately fusing together into a patched mega-boat centered around the Black Dragon, like interlocking building blocks.

In the next moment, countless Loose Immortals unleashed their immortal essence, which poured ceaselessly into the Black Dragon.

Those below Loose Immortality felt their ears ring, and their vision dimmed.

When the dizziness passed, the surrounding stars had completely changed.

"W-We're no longer in the same area..." Lin Yuan stammered.

"This is a special ability possessed by the Immortal Boats of Enlightenment God Palace's core disciples, the Escaping Light," Yu Tiange's voice came from afar. He gazed longingly toward the Black Dragon. "It's called Escape Light because its speed surpasses even that of light. If the distance between two locations isn't too vast, it can rival even the Starry Teleportation Formation."

Everyone drew in sharp breaths.

The Starry Teleportation Formation required two connected anchor points. But in the vast Qingming, there were no such stable coordinates. Constructing such formations was impossible. For an Immortal Boat to rival the speed of a teleportation array... what kind of concept was that? A mobile teleportation array, one that could go anywhere at will?

It is indeed fast... But if the Upper Three Realms weren't sealed, and the Floating Pagoda Realm could merge fully with the Lesser Underworld... My speed would be even faster than Escaping Light,

Fang Chen thought silently to himself.

Someone, noticing that Yu Tiange seemed to know more than most, couldn't help asking, "Fellow Daoist Yu, how much do you know about the Formless Purgatory?"

Clearly, his silver jade token had earned him many privileges. One of which was early access to classified information, likely due to his connection with the expedition star he came from, whose overseer was a fifth-transformation Immortal, vastly stronger than Lin Dong.

"Not much," Yu Tiange said casually. "Only that this is the core of the 157th Ancient Forbidden Zone. To truly control the zone, you must control this place."

He paused for a moment before adding, "But be careful of one thing—the Formless Void Beasts. They're the deadliest existence within the Formless Purgatory."

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Could it be that... we've stumbled into a Forbidden Zone conquest battle?" someone gasped in horror. "The area's almost fully developed, so now they're determining ownership?"