Chapter 783: The Past
Though the profession of "Bai-ologist" had vanished a century ago, and the name "Bai Mo" had long been intentionally buried in the Empire's civilian populace, the private debates among the Empire's upper echelons regarding his actions never ceased.
Some even quipped that this was the passive skill of a high-tier Ghost Immortal — to forever live in our hearts.
As long as someone remembered, as long as the fervor remained, a Ghost Immortal would never truly perish.
...
"We just stand here quietly and wait for the signal from the other side?"
"Precisely."
Five minutes wasn't long; in the time it took to simply zone out, the agreed-upon moment arrived.
Not a second more, not a second less. As the last grain of golden sand fell from the automatic hourglass left by Yi Xi Si, a silver bolt of lightning suddenly streaked across the former location of the altar from yesterday.
Immediately following it was another purple bolt of lightning.
After the dust settled, a towering gate, silver on its left half and purple on its right, appeared out of thin air before everyone.
The gate's artistic style was peculiar, somewhat resembling the entrance to an ancient pyramid on Earth, yet it was merely an entrance.
Beyond the darkness, almost no Spirit Arts could detect anything else behind the gate.
But no one was afraid, for all those dispatched to scout ahead were avatars.
"Aren't you worried about the delay?" Hemo, a Ghost Immortal, swept his gaze over the other avatars, then asked with a hint of mockery.
Among the more than twenty True Immortals participating in the Dao Chen Realm operation, only four primarily cultivated the Ghost Immortal Path, and three others cultivated it as a secondary path.
Among the Five Immortal Paths systems, only the avatars of the Ghost Immortal Path allowed their main bodies to control them regardless of distance. Projections formed by the other four paths were still limited by the speed of light.
The distance to the Dao Chen Realm was immeasurable. If avatars had to wait for commands from their main bodies, the delay would be horrifying.
"These are all avatars formed by our split souls, True Spirit avatars with independent judgment and action capabilities," someone immediately retorted.
Due to their combat effectiveness, Ghost Immortals had always been at the bottom of the hierarchy in the immortal cultivation circle. A pure second-tier Ghost Immortal would still be suppressed by a pure first-tier Human Immortal in a direct confrontation.
Of course, this was only in terms of gaining the upper hand in a battle. The survivability of Ghost Immortals was arguably the strongest among the five paths; it was exceedingly difficult for those of the same tier to kill or truly severely wound them in a one-on-one fight.
Normally, pure Ghost Immortals were subjects of ridicule. Now that the Ghost Immortal Path finally had a chance to shine, Hemo naturally spoke a few more words to relish the moment.
"I hope your True Spirit avatars won't betray you in a few decades," Hemo conjured a slice of watermelon, looking like he was settling in to watch a show.
True Spirit avatars were special Spirit Arts developed by cultivators of other paths, imitating the Ghost Immortal's talent for creating delay-free clones. These avatars could indeed ignore delays and be separated from the main body by vast distances, but the price was that the avatars gained independent consciousness, creating the possibility of rebellion.
Moreover, the manufacturing process carried some risk, with a minute chance of causing the cultivator to develop mental issues like dissociative identity disorder.
"You!"
"..."
"Let me remind you of something," Bai Mo suddenly spoke, interrupting their usual bickering.
"After you arrive there, for the next ten years, do not allow anyone who has not yet become an Immortal to enter the Dao Chen Realm."
"Why?"
"Or, to be more precise, for the next ten years, do not allow anyone who cannot withstand ten thousand degrees to come over to die."
"..."
Bai Mo's words left them utterly confused.
They had originally planned that once they gained a foothold and established coordinates there, they would send void battleships to transport hoards of ravenous adventure cultivators to the Dao Chen Realm for plunder.
After years of recuperation, the Empire's cultivation population had surged, resources became increasingly strained, and social stratification became more rigid.
Regardless of whether they were low, middle, or high-tier cultivators, everyone felt that suitable spiritual materials were scarcer each year, and advancing ranks was becoming more difficult.
They all yearned for the good old days, decades ago, when they led forces to plunder planets like Mars and Venus.
After all, countless tales of overnight riches and miraculous encounters were born during the plunder wars across the solar system's planets.
The wealth of an entire planet, even if only a few scraps fell, was enough to make the war cultivators' mouths water.
Not to mention the destination this time, the Dao Chen Realm, which, according to the Zerg Brain Bug Seres's memories, was countless times the size of Earth and possessed an inexhaustible supply of heavenly treasures and earthly wonders.
Although they had no chance of claiming ownership of the Dao Chen Realm in the face of the few eighth-tier existences, sending people to plunder extensively was definitely not an issue.
At the very least, sending these individuals, who were already somewhat dissatisfied with social distribution, to open up the Dao Chen Realm could reduce unstable factors within the Empire.
"The first decade there is my time."
"..."
Having said this, Bai Mo was the first to step into the massive gate, which resembled a tomb passage, leaving the others to stare at each other.
The second to step in was Ramdo.
Then Ji Er Ke Fu.
...
The dark passage behind the gate was incredibly long, and strange sounds occasionally emanated from its outer walls, seemingly the whispers of some kind of existence.
Bai Mo completely ignored these. Based on his understanding of spatial fissures, the entities producing these eerie sounds were likely what he termed "void creatures."
These existences were colorless and formless, impossible to communicate with, and it was even unknown whether they were a phenomenon or a life form. Naming them "void creatures" was purely Bai Mo's preference.
The passage behind the silver-purple gate was also rather clever; every person who entered seemed unable to encounter those who entered before or after them, as if everyone was walking their own unique path.
After walking alone for a full three days, Bai Mo finally "saw" a barely discernible speck of light in the extreme distance. Yet, at this moment, his heart remained unmoved. He didn't quicken his pace upon seeing the light, continuing to walk at a slow, steady speed.
For a True Immortal, darkness, solitude, and boredom were no issues at all. Their powerful imagination and deduction capabilities could even generate a complete virtual world within their minds, allowing numerous characters to interact and develop, weaving their own stories.
...
The speck of light grew larger and larger, from a speck to a patch, then a circle, and now a light gate. Bai Mo continued walking in the direction of the light for another two full days before finally reaching the edge of the passage's other end.
Beyond the light gate lay the Dao Chen Realm. However, Bai Mo vaguely sensed a deep, blood-red hatred lingering behind the gate. The moment he stepped through, that hatred, almost tangible, would pounce on him like a man-eating tiger.
"But what of it?"
Bai Mo didn't hesitate or stop for a single step. He strode directly through the light gate.
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