*Whoosh!*
A streak of golden light flashed across the cosmos, and Shi Hao immediately halted his movements, preventing Huo Ling’er from undergoing nirvana just yet.
He had spotted the World Tree. At this moment, it was towering, though not as exaggeratedly massive as he had seen earlier. Now, it stood at a height of ten thousand zhang.
It radiated endless brilliance, suffused with the power of chaos—an aura of world-creation!
At the same time, he saw *her* again—the woman standing before the ancient temple atop the tree’s canopy, gazing in his direction.
“Come up and speak with me,” the woman invited, her voice magnetic, flawless in every way, her golden hair as radiant as the morning sun.
Shi Hao nodded, taking Huo Ling’er and the Black Wolf with him as he soared upward, treading upon the chaotic mist until he reached the canopy.
Golden light swirled here, and fragrant waterfalls cascaded down. At the very top, the tender buds of the World Tree shimmered with crystalline purity, exuding an overwhelming vitality.
A divine temple stood atop the canopy, never sinking.
And there was something else—a World Stone!
A natural treasure of the highest order, capable of rivaling immortal artifacts once refined.
Shi Hao had seen these things before, long ago. He never imagined they would still be here.
He studied the woman before him. She was extraordinary indeed, emanating immortal dao power, her cultivation undoubtedly terrifying. In this era of declining laws, aside from himself, there was still an immortal.
But then again, this was the World Tree. The woman had been with it all this time—she must have an incredible origin.
“I am not from your era,” she said, as if reading his thoughts.
Shi Hao asked which era she belonged to.
The golden-haired woman sighed, her eyes clouded with confusion and regret. “Long, long ago. Countless epochs separate us.”
Shi Hao was stunned. Her origins were *that* ancient?
“My grandfather once pioneered the cultivation laws of the immortal realm. He was a being who nearly shattered the King Realm… but he still perished. Before his death, he sealed me within the nascent World Tree.”
“What?!” This time, Shi Hao couldn’t remain seated. He was truly shocked.
“To be precise, the immortal realm’s laws were created by a group of beings. He was merely one of them—a prodigy of his era, one of the strongest across countless epochs,” she explained frankly.
“Someone *that* powerful… still died?” Shi Hao’s eyes blazed. This was a monumental secret, and he needed to know more.
Anyone capable of founding a cultivation system, even as part of a collective effort, and nearly breaking through the King Realm—that was astonishing.
“He was gravely wounded in the Boundary Sea and ultimately died in the Guiding Ancient Temple.”
At these words, Shi Hao’s eyes erupted with terrifying light, like torches spewing out dao symbols that intertwined and shattered the void.
He recalled something—years ago, in the Burial Ground, across the river of time, he had seen Cao Yunsheng’s future self urgently warning him: *Beware… the Temple.*
Back then, he couldn’t hear clearly, only catching the word “Temple.”
All these years, he had pondered over it, considering countless possibilities.
The Guiding Ancient Temple—this wasn’t the first time he had heard of it. During the Three Thousand Provinces’ genius competition, in the ruins of the Immortal Ancient Remnants, he had seen one.
At that time, the temple had summoned an ethereal soul from an unknown place.
“This *is* the Guiding Ancient Temple,” the woman said, pointing to the chaotic temple atop the canopy.
“How?” Shi Hao was baffled.
“My grandfather fought his way there and seized it, suppressing it here,” the golden-haired woman explained.
“Why are you telling me all this?” Shi Hao asked.
“Because I saw you trying to save her.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“The Guiding Ancient Temple is connected to the Dark Prison. Only through it can one establish contact with that place.”
“Dark Prison?!”
“The Dark Prison imprisons soul after soul. It is an endless void, a vast expanse of darkness—a land we cannot tread.”
Shi Hao’s heart surged with monstrous waves. He *knew* that place. It matched his suspicions exactly.
He had even been there before!
While cultivating his second immortal qi, his soul had nearly perished there, inexplicably drawn into the Dark Prison and imprisoned for a long time.
That prison drifted through the river of time, like a land of reincarnation, holding countless beings—some unimaginably powerful, undying since ancient times.
“Do you know where the Dark Essence comes from?” the woman asked.
“Could it be—”
“It originates from beyond the Dark Prison,” she confirmed.
Shi Hao’s mind reeled. Such secrets, all because her grandfather had been *that* powerful—a being who nearly shattered the King Realm, one of the strongest in existence.
“Darkness erodes, taking away souls to nourish the flesh, birthing new souls. So don’t doubt—this girl’s new soul is still her own, not another being’s possession. She simply lacks her old memories.”
Shi Hao was stunned. So that was it!
Huo Ling’er’s soul was still there, imprisoned in the Dark Prison? What kind of place *was* that?!
“She still exists, but this new soul… isn’t the one I knew,” Shi Hao murmured, torn between joy and sorrow.
Joy, because Huo Ling’er was still there—there was hope. He could still find her!
“What nonsense are you two talking about?” Huo Ling’er refused to believe it.
“Is the Guiding Ancient Temple the only way into the Dark Prison?” Shi Hao asked, eyeing the chaotic temple behind the woman.
“Don’t look at it. My grandfather destroyed and suppressed it. It no longer connects to that place,” she said, shaking her head.
She then revealed that there wasn’t just *one* Guiding Ancient Temple—there were many, hidden in the void.
“When traversing the void, beware of bloodstained ancient ships, the light of ascension, and chaotic temples. These three are connected,” she warned.
The chaotic temples seen in the void were all Guiding Ancient Temples.
As for the bloodstained ships, Shi Hao knew—they drifted from the Boundary Sea. He had seen more than one.
“Are they all linked? Is there another way into the Dark Prison besides the temples?”
“There is one other path—one that leads to the ultimate secret beyond the darkness. Many have taken it: crossing the Boundary Sea.”
Shi Hao fell silent, his eyes burning brighter. Today, he had learned too much. He needed to digest it all, his mind a storm of thoughts.
Even the Forbidden Lord didn’t know some of these things—his memories had been severed, leaving only his obsessions.
“While traversing the void, if you see the light of ascension, you might—on rare occasions—use it to tear open a rift into the Dark Prison. But no one who enters has ever returned alive.”
“So that’s how it is,” Shi Hao nodded.
The Guiding Ancient Temple led to the Dark Prison.
The end of the Boundary Sea connected to the greatest secret beyond the darkness.
“Those who sought to shatter the King Realm all took the Boundary Sea path. Long ago, a pair of faint footprints led there—footprints no ordinary Immortal King could leave behind,” the woman said.
After a long silence, Shi Hao bowed deeply in gratitude. Without her, even with the True Phoenix Egg, he wouldn’t have known where to find the Huo Ling’er he once knew.
She was in the Dark Prison!
Over ten thousand years… how much suffering had she endured, locked away in solitude?
“Sometimes, the Dark Erosion doesn’t take *all* of a soul. Fragments remain,” the woman said knowingly.
Shi Hao nodded, thinking of Meng Tianzheng. If not for his lingering soul, how could he have helped Shi Hao slay a True Immortal?
As long as their souls still existed, there was hope. He *would* save them.
Yet, a shadow crossed his heart. He remembered his own experience—how, if not for his extraordinary nature, he would have died in that prison.
“The Dark annihilates the unworthy. Not everyone is ‘privileged’ to be imprisoned. Only those with the potential to become immortals or undying beings have their souls preserved,” the woman said.
Shi Hao shuddered. Her grandfather truly was heaven-defying, uncovering such secrets. No wonder he had fallen—he must have delved too deep, provoking the darkness.
The more he thought, the more chilling it became.
That prison selectively preserved souls, keeping only the strongest. What was the purpose?
The implications were horrifying.
“All beings in this world are crossing a great tribulation,” the golden-haired woman sighed.
Throughout this, Huo Ling’er’s expression was complex. The two hadn’t hidden their conversation from her, and though she refused to believe it, her heart was in turmoil.
“What exactly does that bone guide one toward?” Shi Hao asked, glancing at the chaotic temple—the Guiding Ancient Temple.
Long ago, he had found a rough bone there, speaking of a supreme technique—one even the Heavenly Emperor had never obtained.
“That bone was left behind by my grandfather’s generation, manifesting different dao texts across eras to guide descendants. It is believed to be the *Primordial True Solution: Final Chapter*.”
The *Final Chapter*?!
This was earth-shattering news!
Legend said the *Primordial True Solution* had three parts: the *Divine Introduction*, the *Transcendence*, and the *Final Chapter*—the last of which remained a mystery.
“Be careful. My grandfather’s group also sought to establish an Immortal Court. They styled themselves as Emperors, yet none shattered the King Realm. Such fortune was beyond them—they perished one after another, their clans nearly wiped out. I was sealed away, and one known as the Butcher fled to another ancient realm, eventually venturing into the Boundary Sea.”
Shi Hao was both awed and stunned.
So much hidden meaning…
No wonder the rough bone claimed it was a fortune even the Heavenly Emperor had never obtained.
“Throughout history, some dared to call themselves Emperors in the immortal dao realm. But none shattered the King Realm—they all died wretchedly,” the woman warned.
Shi Hao nodded. He had founded the Heavenly Court, and mortals already hailed him as the Heavenly Emperor. But this was merely a broken world in an era of declining laws.
This wasn’t the Immortal Realm or the Foreign Realm. Titles meant little to him.
What did a mere name matter?
*Swoosh!*
In the end, the World Tree transformed into a streak of light, carrying the woman away until she vanished from sight.
Shi Hao returned to the Heavenly Court with Huo Ling’er, whose expression remained conflicted, occasionally stealing glances at him.
“Take this Phoenix Immortal Egg. It will be of great use to you in the future,” Shi Hao said, offering her the True Phoenix Egg.
“I don’t want it!” Huo Ling’er stepped back.
Time flowed like a river. A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.
Shi Hao had grown utterly tranquil, immersing himself in secluded cultivation.
He knew—to reach the Dark Prison, his current strength was insufficient. He needed to ascend to the Immortal King Realm!
But would his enemies give him that chance?
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