Chapter 515: The Beginning of Mythical World, The Sleeping Beast

Just as the train entered the vortex, Chen Chu felt an intense compressive force closing in on him.

However, compared to the deep-sea passage, the compression from this vortex was much weaker and more stable, as though the train was gliding through a shimmering tunnel of light.

In no time, the train burst through the world passage, and the scenery outside the windows transformed instantly.

The train, resembling a blue dragon, shimmered with light as it soared two meters above the ground, whipping up fierce winds as it sped forward. Base structures on either side stretched into the distance.

The mythical world outside was still shrouded in night, yet under the silver moonlight and the glow of streetlights from the buildings, one could see numerous machines operating and producing.

In the distance, futuristic fighter jets continuously took off and landed, while some transport planes with wingspans exceeding a hundred meters also soared by.

These transport planes, adorned with runes on their surfaces, carried weapons under their wings and bellies. Colossal beasts flew alongside them in formation, their wingspans equally vast. Standing atop these beasts were cultivators dressed in battle armor, providing protection and escort.

Far away, the undulating mountain ranges stretched into the dark horizon, where towering ancient trees, hundreds or even thousands of meters tall, rose like mountains themselves.

In the dense forests, one could occasionally glimpse colossal beasts, each over fifty meters in length and covered in gray scales, resembling giant rhinos resting among the ancient trees.

Meanwhile, within the carriage, Chen Chu felt a wave of ancient, desolate transcendent energy wash over him, its density dozens or even hundreds of times greater than that in Wujiang City.

Though his avatar had previously ventured into the mythical world, the desolate, lifeless territories contrasted sharply with the thriving civilization in the human world.

As Chen Chu observed with curiosity, the train rumbled on for dozens of kilometers, finally slowing as it reached the other end of the passage city and came to a stop at the platform.

[Arrived at Mythical City One. Passengers disembarking, please exit in an orderly manner. Next stop: Sky Battlefield, departing in ten minutes.]

Following the electronic announcement, doors on a dozen or so carriages opened, and hundreds of young and middle-aged passengers disembarked, each radiating the aura of high-level cultivators.

Clearly, Chen Chu was not the only one on this journey. As they stepped off, a dozen floating vehicles, each over five meters long and etched with yellow runes, appeared in the distance, and voices from onboard shouted out.

"Those headed to Assembly Division Zone 4, get in quickly!"

"Here, here! Candidates for the missile inscription project, gather over here!"

"I'm from the Colossal Beast Materials Refining Division..."

As Chen Chu watched this scene with interest, a diamond-shaped white fighter jet, wings spanning over twenty meters and bearing a double-sword insignia, descended from the sky onto a temporary airfield nearby.

Pfff!

The hatch opened, and an exceptionally handsome young man, more striking than a woman, stepped out. In a flash, he crossed the distance to the platform, smiling faintly.

"Brother Chu, long time no see."

"Brother Qingqiu." Chen Chu was somewhat surprised; he hadn’t expected Qingqiu Minghui to come pick him up. His aura had grown even stronger, with transcendent energy naturally converging around him, forming faint outlines of white fox tails.

More than two months had passed, and Qingqiu Minghui, who had been on the brink of reaching the peak of the Seventh Heavenly Realm, had now broken through to the Eighth with the awakening of his bloodline.

Qingqiu Minghui smiled. "Brother Chu, let’s board the jet. The Expansion Division is a few hours’ journey from here."

"Okay." Chen Chu nodded.

Unlike Xie Chen's private king-level jet with its spacious interior, Qingqiu Minghui's was a standard energy fighter jet. Half of the interior was allocated for weapon and ammunition storage, leaving only a few square meters of space, with seats separated from the cockpit.

Whoosh!

The heat waves surged from below the engines, and the powerful anti-gravity thrusters launched the jet skyward, swiftly climbing to an altitude of tens of thousands of meters.

Above the clouds, transport planes with blinking signal lights were occasionally overtaken by the jet.

Sitting in the pilot’s seat and setting the jet to cruise, Qingqiu Minghui asked, "Brother Chu, you must have gone through the information on the mythical world before coming here?"

In the co-pilot’s seat, Chen Chu nodded. "I went over the basics."

"Good, that saves me an explanation." Qingqiu Minghui smiled.

The largest world passages controlled by the three great human nations, along with over a dozen world passages managed by mid-tier nations, all fell under the jurisdiction of the Federation.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

This territory took the shape of a vast trumpet-shaped tube, stretching over twenty thousand kilometers in length and up to fifteen thousand kilometers at its widest point, interspersed with numerous dangerous zones.

The region was a natural fortress, with fractured zones on both sides that even heavenly kings couldn’t traverse. While it effectively barred human entry, it also kept the enemy at bay.

On the frontline, this vast area faced the Purgatory Clan’s stronghold, with a thousand-kilometer frontline dotted with death zones where even kings could perish.

The Expansion Division was stationed at the rear end of this trumpet-like territory, with a battle line stretching several thousand kilometers.

This region was filled with danger zones, with only four relatively stable entry points serving as outposts for the Expansion Division’s four legions as they steadily charted the territory.

Between the frontline and the Expansion Division lay an area roughly the size of the Blue Planet, most of which had already been explored by the Federation, including ruins and resource sites.

Moreover, powerful high-level and even mythical colossal beasts had been cleared out by human elites, making the rear zones relatively safe.

However, this safety applied only to advanced cultivators. Due to the rapid proliferation of mutated beasts, only specific train routes and designated flight paths were considered secure in the rear zone.

Any ordinary high-level cultivator who wandered beyond these routes risked being devoured by mutated beasts lurking in the vast forests.

Suddenly, the jet's speed decreased, and a dense expanse of black fog appeared ahead, stretching for over a thousand kilometers. Qingqiu Minghui’s expression grew serious.

"That black cloud blankets a dangerous region of spatial distortion. The fog obstructs both spiritual perception and sight, making it extremely mysterious. Besides a king who once returned from an exploratory mission inside, neither curious cultivators nor any mutated beast that entered has ever emerged again."

Chen Chu’s expression immediately tightened. Such was the mythical world’s terror—a land of lethal zones where curiosity or a moment of carelessness could lead to one’s demise.

The jet quickly skirted the edge of the black fog and flew over an endless forest where towering trees reached skyward.

Roar! Roar!

Roars of vicious beasts echoed sporadically from within the forest.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, from high above, a flock of over a dozen mutated birds appeared, each with wings spanning over thirty meters. The sight of the jet prompted them to screech and surge forward.

"Courting death," Qingqiu Minghui muttered coldly.

Without needing his manual intervention, the fighter’s automated defenses activated. Energy weapons fired from the wings, the beams piercing the night sky.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Under the powerful laser weapons, these level 4 and 5 mutated birds were obliterated in an instant, their shattered carcasses plummeting from the sky.

In this mythical world, saturated with transcendent energy, the power of these jets and weapons was even greater, enhanced with both technology and runes.

The jet soon crossed the forest, arriving at a region of towering mountains that pierced the clouds, each peak rising tens of thousands of meters like islands floating in the moonlit sky.

Boom!

A gust suddenly tore through the cloud sea on the left, as a colossal rocky dragon, over a thousand meters long and entirely formed from stone, spiraled through the sky.

Qingqiu Minghui explained. “These mountains are part of an ancient ruin from a civilization that has been extinct for countless millennia.

"What just flew by was a massive statue imbued with unique powers. It serves as a guardian of the now-desolate ruins. But as long as one doesn’t enter the heart of the mountain range or attack the statues, they won’t respond."

He then sighed. "The mythical world is vast and boundless, home not only to colossal beasts and demon clans, but also to countless forbidden zones and ruins, steeped in danger and mystery.

"Our current knowledge only scratches the surface of this massive realm. That’s why I chose to join the Expansion Division—to unravel its mysteries piece by piece."

As he spoke, Qingqiu Minghui cast a suspicious glance at Chen Chu.

"Brother Qingqiu, why are you looking at me like that?" Chen Chu asked, puzzled.

Qingqiu Minghui hesitated, then replied, "It’s strange. I feel as if you’ve grown stronger just within this short time."

In Qingqiu Minghui’s perception, the dangerous aura emanating from Chen Chu seemed to intensify, as if his strength was steadily growing.

Chen Chu chuckled. "Brother Qingqiu, you must be mistaken. I’ve been sitting here without cultivating. How could I have grown stronger?"

"Then I must be mistaken." Qingqiu Minghui nodded, though a trace of doubt lingered in his eyes.

When Qingqiu Minghui came here, he had already reviewed Chen Chu’s profile and knew that Chen Chu had broken through to the beginning stage of the Eighth Heavenly Realm.

When they first met, however, the pressure Chen Chu exuded was nowhere near as intense as it was now.

In fact, Qingqiu Minghui’s sense wasn’t wrong. During their conversation, Chen Chu’s physique had strengthened further, becoming increasingly terrifying.

As the Thunder Fiery Dragon Emperor evolved and transformed, its growth simultaneously enhanced Chen Chu’s body, which strengthened with every passing moment.

Over the past three days, his maximum strength had surged from 1.5218 to 1.8454, an increase of over a thousand points per day.

With such frightening progress, Chen Chu’s power grew at a staggering rate every moment, causing faint traces of his aura to leak out.

Meanwhile, as Chen Chu flew toward the Expansion Division...

Deep beneath the sea, the slumbering Dragon Emperor’s abilities had ascended to the level of laws, tempering its body continuously. Its size had grown from 320 meters to over 350 meters.

Its massive body lay sprawled on the ground, with its dorsal fin towering close to a hundred meters high, while its long, sharp, blade-like tail coiled like a city wall, exuding an overwhelming presence.

Black lightning crackled across its black-and-red form, emitting an aura of destruction and leaving black trails in the air with each surge. Between its thick scales, faint golden lights flowed, hinting at an indestructible quality—a touch of Vajra’s indestructible essence.

With its fifth evolution, life transition, and breakthrough in level, the Dragon Emperor’s aura became more fearsome, resembling a colossal beast capable of ending worlds.

Next to it, the Silver Colossal Dragon seemed like a mere child, measuring less than 170 meters in length.

Red flames were ignited on the Silver Dragon, fueled by the energy of the top-level Dark Molten Divine Fruit. Around it, over a dozen large cyan-and-white scales floated, emanating a fearsome pressure that intimidated all around.

Roar! I’m so bored! The great Saixitia wants to see rivers of blood flow.

The dragon growled as it absorbed the divine fruit’s energy, swiping its tail in boredom.

Meanwhile, a few kilometers away in the dark depths of the ocean, the slumbering Single-Horned Kun and Deep Sea Dragon Turtle also underwent transformations, with their auras growing ever stronger.

At the surface, in an area of black and white spanning over a kilometer, time seemed frozen as ten-meter-high waves hung motionless in the air.

While the main forces of the Dragon Palace’s colossal beasts were breaking through in slumber...

Two thousand kilometers away, waves surged as a black, sixty-meter-long mutated orca swam just below the surface.

A thirty-meter orca swam alongside, sleek and streamlined, with a striking black-and-white pattern.

The female orca, Little Hime, looked puzzled, emitting soft squeaks.

Squeak! Leader, weren’t we gathering crystals for the king? Why have we come here instead?

Hu San's eyes glinted with pride.

Squeak! This is the territory of another mythical beast. We’re here to gather intel first, and when Uncle wakes up, we’ll take them down.

Squeak! Chief, how do you know that Lord Thunder Fiery is going to attack this beast’s territory?

The female orca looked puzzled, unsure why her leader was so certain that the Thunder Fiery Dragon King would wage war against another mythical colossal beast empire. After all, the opposing empire had its own immensely powerful mythical beast as its guardian.

The black orca's fins moved slightly as it emitted a proud call.

Squeak! It’s because Dragon King Saixitia wants to unify the ocean! So, Uncle will definitely take action, because Uncle dotes on Dragon King Saixitia.

Squeak! Little Hime, you came late, so you don’t know. That mythical colossal beast called the Black Abyss King died because its envoy disrespected Dragon King Saixitia.

Squeak! That quasi-mythical beast named Taar was so blind; it only demanded that Uncle submit, and didn’t include Dragon King Saixitia in its demands, which made Saixitia very angry.

Squeak! Daring to insult the great Dragon King Saixitia was unforgivable. After Uncle’s breakthrough in strength, he charged over and killed it directly.

Squeak! In that battle, not only was the mythical beast slain, but Dragon King Saixitia also destroyed its subordinate civilization. It turned rivers into blood and transformed the entire world into an apocalypse.

Squeak! Wow! Lord Thunder Fiery really dotes on Lord Saixitia!

The female orca’s eyes filled with admiration.

The black orca patted the female orca with its massive fin.

Squeak! Don’t worry, Little Hime. I dote on you too—anyone who dares to bully you, I’ll bite them to death.

Squeak! Squeak!

As the female orca nestled beside him, the black orca’s eyes sparkled with pride.

Hmph! My stupid brothers, working hard without thinking—being a whale, you’ve got to use your brain, or you’ll be stuck doing grunt work for life.

Just then, the shadow of a colossal beast over fifty meters long appeared ahead, making the black orca's eyes light up. With a flick of his tail, he swam over to it.

Squeak! Hey, Brother, how are you? Want to be friends?