Chapter 1737 - Fade Away
There was no white-clothed man, no dao children, even more so no thatched cottages, grand metal palace halls, Cosmos Lake, spiritual mountain, or anything else, everything he saw before vanished.
There was only silence here, as well as some dried bones, withered away over time, coldly existing in the silence, extremely bleak.
Shi Hao felt a chill run down his body from head to toe. Just what exactly did he experience?
Just now, everything was clearly real, everything unimaginable, as if it was just a dream of grandeur. However, he now woke up like this, a chill even running down his back.
This really was frightening. One had to understand that he was but a Self Release Realm cultivator, cultivation profound, moreover someone who broke through the records of this great era, establishing a legend, a young expert that had never appeared before.
However, he was still fooled, that dream too realistic.
When he lowered his head to look at that snow-white, damaged skull, he couldn’t help but take a few steps back. He just couldn’t shake off this feeling of flusteredness. If his suspicions were correct, then it really was too terrifying.
A glorious restricted region lord ended up like this?
The so-called high up above, enough strength to dominate the world, overlook all under the sky, in the end still became nothing, unable to save even himself, flesh going up in smoke. As the great world ebbed and flowed, his existence vanished.
This was but the lord of a restricted region! Yet in the end, all of his hopes and efforts came to nothing, his body turning into white bones. It rested in this bleak and desolate wilderness, only accompanied by generation after generation of silence.
This scene and situation were quite similar to the ‘ghost appearing in dream and making a request’ ordinary people spoke of, the spirit of the deceased expressing his remnant will through this type of method.
The lord of a restricted region was definitely powerful, able to alter his own fate, reign unmatched in the world, but in the end, he still ended up in this type of state, only able to appear through this type of method. It really was a bit pitiful.
Shi Hao looked at that snow-white skull, really finding it a bit hard to accept. Just now, he had interacted with it as if he was in a land of dreams, was this all done by this skull?
A cold wind swept through the dry and hard earth, releasing wuwu noises, making this place appear even more frigid.
Shi Hao took steps back again and again, staying a bit further from that skull. He began to search around the surroundings, carefully examining this place, wishing to find more historical traces and clues.
There was an expanse of ruined mountains, immortal energy previously suffusing this place. In that dreamland, it wasn’t that tall, but it had heaven suppressing great might, a great dao mountain.
On the mountain, there were previously metal palaces, every single one of them incredibly grand, even a single look making one’s mind feel like splitting, their souls in pain from the pressure.
However, now, apart from broken mountains, what else was there?
Dang!
His feet ended up kicking some crushed stones. A cold wind swept past, stirring forth some dust and ashes, revealing metal debris, as well as some building foundations.
It was metal, previously a grand structure. However now, there were only bits of remains left!
They were all destroyed, no longer in existence!
There were no unaging beauties or imperishable inheritances, everything would wither away one day. Even a powerful existence like the lord of a restricted region turned to ashes with the passing of time.
Shi Hao turned around, arriving before the medicinal field. It was still here, one could see the rough outline of this divine earth. There were still crop rows, as well as dried plants.
It was extremely strange. Even the metal palaces had turned to ruins, yet there were still withered divine herbs here, it really was weird.
The medicinal field shone. As Shi Hao got closer, waves of light surged. Those dried great medicines and rotten divine herbs, at this time, became ashes.
Shi Hao was shocked. He didn’t even get close yet. He released a sigh, this medicinal field’s spiritual nature preserved its past appearance.
Only, what disappeared still disappeared in the end, could not be recreated.
Then, he turned around again. Along the way, he saw the golden lion. It was completely quiet, laying there, not moving, as if still asleep.
Shi Hao walked over, giving it a pat. Sure enough, it was just sleeping, no danger to its life.
“What happened?” The golden lion suddenly opened its eyes, all of the hair on its body standing on end, quickly backing up, looking at Shi Hao with great alarm.
Growl…
It released a low growl. It felt great pain from a claw, and then couldn’t help but lower its head, moreover recalled the events it experienced while it was asleep.
“Cosmos Lake, my skin and fur, flesh…”
It clearly remembered that when Shi Hao crossed Cosmos lake, it had also tried to, but in the end, its claw was completely corroded by natural laws, flesh coming off, only white bones remaining, leaving it in intense pain.
Now, it could still feel that penetrating pain. Moreover, that claw had some blood on it, just that the skin, fur, flesh, and other parts all already reappeared, properly recovering.
Yi! Shi Hao naturally saw the blood on its claw, feeling extremely shocked. So what he experienced in that dream might not necessarily all be fake?
“Why did that Cosmos Lake dry up?” The golden lion was a bit shocked. Then, when it examined its surroundings, it became even more stupefied.
Where was all the lush verdance, the spiraling immortal energy? Everything disappeared, this place became a land of death!
The so-called long life medicinal fragrance, none of it could be smelled either!
The golden lion was petrified. Then, it clenched its teeth, lowered its head, starting to use its great claws to dig at the dried up small lake. There was still fine sand covering that place.
However, what left it shocked was that when it touched the sand, heaven shook and earth quaked, this place rumbling with noise.
The golden lion quickly backed up, immediately stunned. It was because when it touched the sand, it was heavy to the point of almost making it scream out, every grain of sand comparable to a star.
Shi Hao was also shocked. He squatted down, examining the fine sand below the dried lake.
He used his hand to examine it, as a result discovering with shock that it was too heavy, every grain of sand like this, as heavy as a star.
“This… really is Cosmos Lake!” Shi Hao sighed with astonishment.
Every granule of sand was a real star, refined into sand. Back then, green waves rippled, the water sparkling, this place was created by stars.
The so-called Cosmos Lake, it had really existed. This place was a cosmos of its own, yet it was used to decorate the area in front of the thatched cottage of the lord of the restricted region.
Just how great of an expense was this?
As the lord of the restricted region died, this cosmos ended drying up, lake turning into sand, the past grand view no longer appearing.
Shi Hao walked over to the skull again. There were no thatched cottages here, nor were there wooden stumps, everything gone.
On the ground, the three skulls replaced the white-clothed male and two dao children’s positions, not the slightest bit off.
The golden lion’s entire body released chills, just now daring to believe what was before its eyes.
Shi Hao sighed. He squatted down. He wanted to bury this skull to prevent these remains from being exposed to the desolate wilderness anymore.
However, what was shocking was that he couldn’t move the snow-white skull at all. It didn’t budge at all, as if it was a wall supporting heaven and earth.
It was a head, why couldn’t he move it?
With his cultivation, he could easily pick stars or moons, even grabbing down the heavenly sun wasn’t an issue, yet he couldn’t pick up that skull.
Soon afterwards, he discovered some abnormalities.
When he brushed aside the surrounding earth, there were some stone slabs, some characters engraved on them. The handwriting was done by different people, some strokes powerful, some gentle and elegant.
The name etched into the first slab was -- Ao Gu!
Wasn’t this the first youngster the lord of the restricted region talked about, the one known to be the most powerful Primal Chaos Clan’s Pride of Heaven, from the beginning phase of Immortal Ancient Great Era?
He examined them one by one, sure enough, he recognized some familiar names, all of them the youngsters he saw in that dream.
The final slab was left behind precisely by Fairy Qing Yue.
It wasn’t an illusion, everything was real.
“This…”
He learned a bit of the truth from these stone slabs, previously, there really were those young Heaven’s Prides who came here, moreover obtained teachings, paying their respects to the lord of the restricted region as their master.
Of course, at that time, it was already no longer a living lord of the restricted region. It was just like right now, only a skull!
In the end, they all wanted to bury this taboo existence’s remains as well, yet they couldn’t do it, only able to leave behind stone inscriptions, pay homage to this place.
Shi Hao began to feel a headache. Just which generation was the lord of this restricted region from? It was already only a skull at the start of Immortal Ancient Great Era, so which era did it die in?
On the ground was a teapot, a piece of jade, as well as broken cups, everything extremely old-fashioned, all things he had previously seen in that dream.
Shi Hao reached out his hand. He was able to pick up the teapot, as well as the broken teacups. What was shocking was that there was tea that came out, still bright red, even carrying a bit of warmth.
He was shocked. Even after so many years passed, more than a great era, there was still tea, and it was still warm?
The golden lion was also shocked, its throat making a gulp sound. It was because the fragrance of that tea was too rich.
Shi Hao had a taste of that tea. It was still the same taste, bitter and astringent to an unbearable degree, just too unpleasant to drink!
When he saw the golden lion stare at him like that, Shi Hao gave it a bit.
Then, the golden lion screamed miserably, rolling all over the ground, its appearance as miserable as miserable could be, entire body about to explode!
“Bitter! It hurts!” The golden lion screamed, its roars like thunder, rolling all over the ground.
At the same time, Shi Hao felt strange. When he raised his head, he discovered that the thatched cottage appeared again, the short mountain, the metal palaces, medicinal fields, everything returned to normal.
Apart from this, there was a white-clothed man smiling gently, sitting before him, two dao children behind him.
“I have said that this tea isn’t something normal people can drink.” He said with a smile.
The white-clothed man reached out his hand, tapping the golden lion. It coughed out loudly, a few sparkling droplets landing on the ground. Only then did it recover, no longer in pain.
“Senior!” Shi Hao said with a trembling voice.
“It is time for you to leave. Once all worldly affairs are cast aside, return here for a chat.”
This time, Shi Hao grabbed that piece of jade, no longer hesitating. When he got up, everything returned to normal again, this place becoming a desolate land, only bones behind him.
“My body has already passed on, what is gone will always be gone in the end.”
This was the voice Shi Hao heard before he left.
The golden lion shivered inwardly. It carried Shi Hao on his back, running with everything it had even without being given an order, rushing into the distance, leaving this life restricted region!