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Collecting [], for your enjoyment.

The space was a bleak gray expanse, a sea of shattered stone littered with the debris of dead stars, teeming with unspeakable peril.

An infinite territory, permeated only by desolation and silence, like a world abandoned for eons, utterly devoid of any trace or breath of life.

Upon a shard of a rhombic moon, Shi Yan and Audrey stood at opposite ends, gazing toward the immeasurable distance, their expressions shadowed with gloom.

This fragment of the moon had been refined by Shi Yan, serving as a makeshift warship.

Driven by his divine power, its speed was astonishing, like a meteor slicing through the Void Sea.

At the pace of this Meteor Moon Stone, they could traverse an entire star field in a single day, covering billions of miles.

Yet, no matter how long they traveled on this shard, they had found nothing.

No priceless marvels had appeared, nor any sign of living beings.

This vast, boundless Void Sea seemed endless, as if only the two of them existed within it.

Feelings of isolation and profound loneliness gradually took root in their hearts.

They felt a sense of hopelessness, seeing no end in sight.

Initially, they conversed daily, offering each other encouragement and support.

But as time wore on, even their exchanges grew sparse.

They saw in each other’s eyes a deep weariness and helplessness.

A faint ambient energy still existed here, allowing them to cultivate.

But because this energy was so weak, achieving success through reliance on it seemed exceedingly difficult.

One day, the clear light in Audrey’s cool eyes flickered.

She was still clad in her jade-green dress, her perfect face spotless, her body enveloped in a faint, ghostly luminescence.

“How long has it been?” She whispered, almost to herself.

Shi Yan, who had been keeping his eyes tightly shut, opened them at the sound of her voice, a bitter taste lingering on his lips.

“Here, there is no cycle of stars being born and dying, so there is no clear sense of time.

I don’t know exactly how long it’s been.

But I think it’s been a while.

Before I arrived here, my cultivation at the third level of the Prime God realm was unstable, but now, it has certainly solidified.” “I wonder what state our world is in now.

I wonder if that Serpent Fiend has already destroyed it.

I wonder where my mother was transmitted to.

If she is here too, why haven't we managed to meet…” Audrey remained silent for a long time.

Once she started speaking, it seemed the floodgates had opened.

“Alas, knowing we would be trapped here, perhaps staying put would have been the better choice.” Shi Yan was startled.

“If you had stayed, you might not have died, but there would certainly be an imprint in the core of your soul that did not belong to you.

You would… become its puppet?” Audrey’s bright eyes dimmed, and she lowered her head with a soft sigh, her demeanor still captivating.

“According to what you said, everyone who reached the Immortal realm has passed through this place for tempering.

How did they enter? And how did they manage to return?” Shi Yan asked, frowning.

“Although my mother is also an Immortal realm expert, she had to preside over the major affairs of her clan, so she never personally ventured into the Void Sea.

She once mentioned that those Immortal experts entered here through a bizarre river at the very end of our world.” Audrey frowned deeply, recalling her mother’s words, and explained softly, “Those who enter this place from our world craft a unique compass.

That compass can pinpoint the direction of our world, preventing them from becoming lost here, allowing them to find their way back.” Shi Yan offered a wry smile.

“Our misfortune is that we have no direction.

We don’t know where our world lies, flitting about like headless flies to no avail.” This place was a murky gray void, devoid of time, direction, only endless dead silence, coldness, and solitude.

A martial artist who inadvertently came here without a bearing or clear objective would quickly have their spirit corroded by loneliness and isolation, losing all will to fight in the sunless repetition.

Here, despair was the greatest enemy within the heart.

If one failed to conquer despair, the decay of willpower would lead them into self-abandonment and negative emotions.

This could cause Qi deviation, a gradual weakening, until life force was finally depleted.

“It is strange.

According to my mother’s description, this place is extremely perilous, full of constant danger.

Why have we remained unharmed?” Audrey remarked curiously.

Shi Yan felt the same puzzlement.

The Divine Race elder, Xing Huo, had also visited the Void Sea, but he only dared to operate on its outer fringes.

That piece of Celestial Star Ice Jade was also obtained from the periphery.

By his account, the inner Sea was saturated with terrifying and absolute dangers; survival was nearly impossible unless one was a true Immortal expert.

Yet, Shi Yan and Audrey, during this period, apart from tasting loneliness, isolation, and an internal chill, had genuinely encountered no crisis capable of shattering their souls.

This filled their hearts with confusion.

“Is this truly the Void Sea? Could we… have made a mistake?” Shi Yan asked in surprise.

“Impossible to mistake!” Audrey stated firmly.

“The everywhere-present star fragments, the residue of meteors, the void caves we occasionally encounter, the chaotic and violent energy—these are all unique hallmarks of the Void Sea.

The reason we haven't met danger might be… related to our current location.

Perhaps we are in a very unique sector of this Sea.” “What sector?” Shi Yan blinked.

“I don’t know, but my mother mentioned that within the Void Sea, there are areas relatively safer, allowing for brief respite and self-adjustment.

But she also said that those relatively safe zones rarely hold any treasures or yield anything extraordinary,” Audrey explained.

“Why is that?” Shi Yan pressed.

“She told me that over countless years, many Immortal experts have explored the Void Sea.

Those relatively safe areas have long been scoured clean by those explorers, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

Only the areas filled with world-destroying peril are likely to still harbor supreme treasures, rare wonders that have yet to be uncovered,” Audrey replied softly.

She suddenly rose, her long, slender legs beautifully straight.

Her deep, clear, luminous eyes gazed into the distance, and she sighed lightly.

“According to Tian Xie, we have always lived in the Prime Realm of the Barren Land, a world that is not the true universe.

I believe creatures from the genuine universe must have also visited this place.

It’s just that this realm is inconceivably vast, making encounters rare.” She turned to glance at Shi Yan, mused for a moment, and then said, “My ancestors of the Nether Emperor Clan once encountered other life forms within the Void Sea—beings not originating from the true universe we know! This is a deep secret of my clan, strictly forbidden to be divulged, but given our current circumstances, telling you is inconsequential.” “Beings from the true universe? Are they Primordial Beings?” Shi Yan was aghast.

“Probably not,” Audrey shook her head.

“Because according to my ancestor’s records, while that being’s body was bizarre, it was relatively normal, not as colossal as the Primordial Beings.

My ancestor couldn't communicate with it; they only met briefly before cautiously separating, avoiding conflict.

But my ancestor suspected that creature was extremely powerful, no less so than himself… and my ancestor was at the second level of the Immortal realm at that time.” Shi Yan fell silent.

He had long since accepted the reality: the world he inhabited was merely the Barren Land’s Prime Realm, a universe created by the Barren One, not the true cosmos.

It was hardly surprising that this Void Sea lay outside the Barren One’s domain and that other life forms existed here.

In the vast sea of stars, if there were Primordial Beings like the Barren One, Shi, and Serpent Fiend, there must certainly be other entities.

Those beings might not be as mighty as the Primordial ones, but they would undoubtedly possess their own unique strengths.

It was theoretically plausible for the Nether Emperor Clan ancestor to have encountered other life forms in the Void Sea.

The issue was the sheer immensity of the Sea, and they were likely in a sparsely populated region, hence the lack of contact with extra-territorial life.

A chain of thoughts raced through Shi Yan’s mind.

After a long silence, he suddenly spoke, “We cannot continue to drift along safely like this.

Perhaps we should actively seek out dangerous zones.

Places that threaten our lives should offer a chance to encounter wonders and a possibility of meeting other beings.” In this safe region, even a century of waiting would likely yield no direction home, and without meeting others, they could never decipher the mysteries of this place or escape this predicament.

“That’s an excellent thought, but we still don’t know the direction to the perilous zones.

Even if we are determined to venture out, we need to at least find suitable ground,” Audrey said helplessly.

“If you had mentioned earlier that dangerous areas offered greater opportunities, we might have left long ago.

During our journey, when I was piloting the stream of light beneath us, I sometimes sensed immense danger in certain areas, but I deliberately steered clear of them, avoiding any investigation,” Shi Yan explained with a wry smile.

Indeed, he had extended his divine sense to probe the surroundings.

He detected regions with massive, terrifying fluctuations—auras from those places that instilled in him a primal dread of potential annihilation.

Thus, he had bypassed them preemptively without informing Audrey, prioritizing his own safety.

But now, hearing Audrey’s detailed explanation, he finally understood that to find a way back, they must take risks and willingly venture into those places of great terror.

“Why didn’t you say so sooner?” Audrey pouted, annoyed that he had wasted so much time.

“The dangers in those places were likely beyond your capacity to endure.

I was looking out for your well-being,” Shi Yan replied with a bitter smile.

“You are only at the first level of the Prime God realm; entering the dangerous areas I sensed would almost certainly overwhelm you.” The perils in the areas he perceived were terrifying even to him, which was why he never mentioned them to Audrey.

“Are you underestimating me?” Audrey’s expression turned cold.

“Very well, we will continue moving forward.

The next time my divine sense detects a dangerous zone, we will go deep inside.

I hope you can display strength that astonishes me then,” Shi Yan said cheerfully, shrugging.

Audrey snorted.

“I am, after all, one of the Core Fusers.

Even if my realm is slightly lower, I possess a degree of self-preservation.

You don’t need to worry excessively for me.” “That would truly be for the best.” .RT