Chapter 2818 Not to be Passed to a Third Pair of Ears

The new arrival was dressed in a sophisticated robe. His figure was as upright as a pine, and his every movement made one think of a heavenly immortal!

Like Thirteen, Lin Xun was alarmed, but when the appearance of the visitor became clear to him, he was stunned. His eyes then glowed with a strange color as he clasped his fist and said, “Senior!”

The other party was none other than Chen Linkong, that strange man who had once referred to himself as ‘Burning Immortal’!

“It’s been quite a while.” Chen Linkong smiled, then turned to Xia Zhi, “We meet again, Miss.”

Xia Zhi gave a slight nod.

“This is Senior Chen Linkong.” Lin Xun introduced him to Thirteen.

Thirteen said, “Greetings, Sir. Since your surname is Chen, could it be that you are related to that supreme being?”

Chen Linkong smilingly nodded. “He is my grandfather.”

Lin Xun was inwardly shaken, recalling what Taixuan had said about the red jade pendant with the word Chen currently hanging at his waist: It was from Chen Linkong's grandfather. Furthermore, Taixuan had speculated that Chen Linkong's grandfather...was an extremely unimaginable existence!

It made sense when one reflected on it. To be able to travel many epochs without fear of spacetime constraints, and then even build Fortune Divine City in this place to pass down the Fortune Starry Firmament, how could someone like that be an ordinary character?

Thirteen excitedly said, “In that case, you should know something about the great tribulation befalling my lord back then?”

Chen Linkong replied, “That calamity, like the Five Dao Decays, was the work of the mastermind behind the change of epochs. However, it didn't specifically target your lord, but instead any existence at the Eternal Stage. Well, its actual name is Great Silence Unlife Calamity.”

Great Silence Unlife Calamity!

So, outside of the Five Dao Decays Tribulation, there was also an unbelievably bizarre tribulation that came from the mastermind behind the epochal changes! This was the first time that both Lin Xun and Thirteen had heard about such a thing.

Lin Xun couldn't help but ask, “Senior, who is that mastermind?”

Chen Linkong smiled, “Aren't you going to invite me to sit down before we talk?”

Only then did Lin Xun realize that Chen Linkong hadn't been properly welcomed yet. He hurriedly moved.

After everyone was seated, Chen Linkong said, “My travels in the Fortune Dominion started a long time ago. By now, I've roughly determined a few things, and the most important among them is about this mastermind.”

After a pause, he continued, "As you all know, there are around a hundred epochal worlds in the Fortune Dominion. In fact, every one of them is trapped here. They cannot leave this dominion because all the inhabitants are blocked by an invisible law lower. Even those as powerful as Eternal experts are unable to break this force.

“To make it simple, this invisible law power is like a prison for all the living beings in the hundreds of epochal worlds. There is no possibility of them leaving in their entire life, even if they certify eternity.

“Initially, I thought that this law power originated from the Fortune Dominion itself, but then I learned that it's actually from the work of that mysterious mastermind behind the epochal changes!”

Lin Xun was creeped out. “Why did that ‘mastermind’ do this?”

Chen Linkong said, “I'm not sure, though I can confirm that my grandfather originally came to this place to look for that mastermind, only to find that they weren't in the Fortune Dominion, whoever ‘they’ were.”

“Then where would they be?” Lin Xun asked.

After some pondering, Chen Linkong said, “I can only offer my opinion. Among the four great dao dominions, the Return Dominion is not only the origin of all dao paths, but also where they return to. This applies even to the powerful Eternal True Realm. The power of the heavenly principles covering it can also be traced back to the Return Dominion.

“The Kunlun Dominion, on another hand, is the main battlefield of every epochal change. Whenever the destruction of an epoch arrived, there would be countless contenders who went there to seek survival.

"Finally, there’s this Fortune Dominion. It's a massive cage left by that mastermind. As for why it’s imprisoning the one hundred epoch civilizations here, I'm not quite sure."

Lin Xun nearly jumped as this was his first time hearing such a staggering secret.

The Return Dominion was the origin of all dao paths under the sun. The Kunlun Dominion was the main battlefield of every epochal change. The Fortune Dominion was made into a prison by some mastermind.

Simply astounding!

“What about the All-Wonder Dominion?” Lin Xun asked, trying to calm his mind.

Chen Linkong said, “The land of mysteries, the gate to all wonders... That place... I don't know much about it, but I'll definitely take a trip there one day.”

Lin Xun dazed out as he was reminded of the All-Wonder Dao Fire and the Picture of a Daoist Riding a Bull he had obtained. He also recalled that the owner of the two sword whetstones – ‘Sharpen your heart like a blade’ and ‘Temper the heart as smooth as jade’ – had once entered the All-Wonder Dominion!

However, no one could tell anything of substance about the All-Wonder Dominion. Of the four great dao dominions, it remained the most mysterious.

“All in all, no matter who that mastermind is, an entirety transformed from law power or an extremely formidable cultivator, I'm definitely going to unmask them,” said Chen Linkong softly with a determined look in his eyes.

Thirteen, who had been quiet all this time, finally couldn't help but speak up, “Fellow Daoist, can we set this mastermind aside for now? If I may ask, do you...have the solution to the Great Silence Unlife Calamity?”

Chen Linkong said, “The solution is hidden in this Fortune Divine City.”

“What?!” Thirteen looked like he had been struck by lightning.

Lin Xun was just as dumbfounded.

Chen Linkong turned to Lin Xun, “Little Friend, you have already comprehended all the mysteries in the Fortune Starry Firmament, so you should be clear about the reason why this Fortune Divine City was built.”

“To shelter the Fortune Origin from being destroyed,” replied Lin Xun without thinking.

Chen Linkong said, “That's right. The Fortune Origin is still here, and thanks to that, our mastermind hasn't been able to gain complete control of the Fortune Dominion. The power of the Fortune Origin can resist the Great Silence Unlife Calamity created by them.

“It was upon realizing this very fact that my grandfather used his entire cultivation to construct Fortune Divine City, and used the law power of the Precious River Map to shroud this city. Only by doing all this was he able to shield the Fortune Origin from that mastermind for these countless years.”

The Precious River Map!

The scene of that green-clad figure surnamed Chen building Fortune Divine City fiercely surfaced in Lin Xun’s mind. That man had thrown a black, rounded tortoise shell into the void where it transformed into a restrictive law power that covered the entire city.

So that was how he had warded off the power of that mastermind and sheltered the Fortune Origin!

It was no wonder that for eons now, even Eternal experts would be rejected and attacked when they attempted to approach Fortune Divine City. Since the law power transformed from the Precious River Map could go against that mastermind, how could it possibly fail to stop mere Eternal-level characters?

“So to speak, if my lord had entered Fortune Divine City, she would have very likely avoided that tribulation?” Thirteen's face was overcome with grief.

Chen Linkong nodded.

Lin Xun inwardly let out a long sigh as well. Back then, Xia Zhi's true form had obviously found some clues and thus traveled to Fortune Divine City, but the tribulation had arrived when she was still on the road. One could say failure had reached her when she was only one step away from success.

After a long trance, Lin Xun suddenly thought of something and said, “Your grandfather put the Fortune Starry Firmament here... Why is that?”

Chen Linkong chuckled. “You have now become the master of Fortune Divine City, and you're still unclear about it?”

A confused Lin Xun shook his head. “Please enlighten me, Senior.”

Chen Linkong said, “All of these hundred or so epoch civilizations have survived every epochal destruction. They represent different cultivation cultures and systems, and when you have fully mastered them one by one, you will be able to gauge the heights that those civilizations had once reached on the scale of almighty dao.

"Only by knowing this will you truly understand just how powerful an epoch at its peak of the great dao is, and only through that will you truly understand how powerful our mastermind is."

Lin Xun was shaken to his core. Just how high were the great dao achievements of the past epoch civilizations? He had no idea, but he knew that no matter how powerful they were, they couldn't withstand the power of the mastermind behind the epochal change!

Therefore, through understanding the peak power of the past epoch civilizations, one could at least surmise how terrifying that mastermind was. In this way, there might actually be a chance to catch up, surpass, and defeat the other party!

This was the reason why Chen Linkong’s grandfather had created the Fortune Starry Firmament!

“Although these are still a bit far from your current reach...” Chen Linkong smiled. “It doesn't matter. What matters is that you are the first and only person to date to see through the ultimate mystery of the Fortune Starry Firmament. Your future path will surely be one that encompasses the lengths of all past epochs, towering above the past and present.

“And this path... Anyone who has the potential to embark on it is regarded as my grandfather's comrade on the path.”

At the end of his speech, Chen Linkong felt a burst of sentiments. Even he had not expected that this disciple of Fangchun Mountain, who had been regarded differently by the golden cicada, would display such potential on the cultivation path.

Meanwhile, Lin Xun remembered the words of the green-clad man surnamed Chen about no longer being the sole walker on his path!

Chen Linkong mumbled, “My grandfather... That old man only ever acted after thorough planning, and only planned after thorough calculations. There must be something deeper to his arrangements here. When the time comes for you to certify eternity, my little friend, maybe you will find the true meaning of being the Fortune Divine City Lord.”

Lin Xun hesitated again and again, but in the end, he found himself asking, “Senior, can you tell me your grandfather's name?”

In his mind, that man in green with an ancient sword across his back was truly too incredible. The more Lin Xun learned about Fortune Divine City and the things related to him, the more he realized how terrifying the other party's cultivation was.

Just think about it, an individual who could fend off the Great Silence Unlife Calamity, who had built Fortune Divine City to fight against the mastermind behind the change of epochs. Who could not wonder what kind of a person that was?

How could Lin Xun not be curious?

Chen Linkong contemplated for a while. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, “Well... Of course I can, but the dao is not to be passed to a third pair of ears, so I can only tell it to you, Little Friend.”

Lin Xun found this utterly inconceivable. He was asking for a name only, why did it turn out to be associated with the ‘dao’?

It was also at this moment that he thought of his master, the Lord of Fangchun Mountain. His senior brothers and sisters had also said that like the great dao, their master's name could not be uttered!

Lin Xun then saw a solemn expression that was rarely seen on Chen Linkong's face. The elegant man cupped his fist towards the void, as if he was a junior saluting his elders.

And then, a bell-like dao echo suddenly resounded in Lin Xun's mind, “Chen Xi!”