Chapter 242: Chapter 146: Ten Thousand Years Is Too Long, Seize the Day
Seeing that he’d made up his mind, the three won could only nod.
Li Chang’an didn’t dare to linger. He was afraid that if he stayed any longer, he would find himself in another Xiuluo Scene. He got up and left the Li Yang Capital imdiately.
...
In the Li Yang Northwest Desert, a vast expanse of the Gobi Desert stretched out.
Li Chang’an entered the valley with practiced ease and walked up to the great tomb where he had first encountered the World-Devouring Whale. He called out, "Senior, I’ve co to visit today because I have so questions for you!"
His voice echoed through the empty valley.
There was no response from the World-Devouring Whale.
Li Chang’an circled the great tomb. The Stone Lion was still half-buried in the ground, projecting a curtain of light.
When he was twenty, this curtain of light had filled him with a lingering dread. But now, Li Chang’an was fifty years old.
To him, the curtain of light was now as fragile as a sheet of paper.
With a casual poke, Li Chang’an shattered the Stone Lion’s protective barrier of light. He then forced the earth and stone apart and strode brazenly into the tomb passage.
The last ti he was here, the World-Devouring Whale had manifested as a ferocious Evil Beast, appearing above the stone gate to speak with him, Leng Yanran, and Ran Qingqiu.
But this ti, as Li Chang’an returned, the stone gate remained inert.
’What’s going on?’
’Did the World-Devouring Whale run off, or did it croak?’
He walked closer and knocked on the tomb door, but there was still no response.
A sense of foreboding washed over Li Chang’an.
Normally, the tomb’s main gate could not be opened from the outside, but that obviously wasn’t going to stop Li Chang’an. He thrust a hand into the stone gate, wrenched a crack open by sheer force, and then gave a light tug along the fissure.
RUMBLE... The massive ancient tomb began to shake violently.
After the dust settled, Li Chang’an saw an empty tomb chamber.
No...
That’s not right. The chamber wasn’t empty. A tunnel, like a Black Hole, led out from inside it.
The tunnel led deep underground, its depth impossible to gauge.
On either side of the passage, layers of space and ti constantly warped and materialized.
For so reason, the tunnel gave Li Chang’an a feeling of déjà vu.
He stood there, stunned, wracking his brain for a long ti before he finally recalled it. When he used his Rebirth Mark, he could vaguely sense sothing familiar, just like the feeling this tunnel gave off.
The only difference was that the sensation from this tunnel felt unstable.
When he used the Rebirth Mark, however, it allowed him to proceed without sensing anything amiss at all.
’So, that raised a question.’
’Where did this tunnel co from?’
’Since it’s in the World-Devouring Whale’s territory, it was most likely the whale’s creation.’
He picked up a rock and threw it into the tunnel.
The rock flew in a parabolic arc. The instant it made contact with the tunnel, its surface seed to distort and blur, but it didn’t shatter.
He waited for a long mont.
Once he was certain there was no danger, Li Chang’an finally stepped into the tunnel.
The tunnel was long, and walking through it, he lost all sense of space and ti. After what felt like an eternity, Li Chang’an saw the World-Devouring Whale lying at the far end.
The World-Devouring Whale resembled the orcas Li Chang’an knew, though it was vastly larger. It appeared to be in a deep slumber, its black-and-white hide crisscrossed with countless scars.
The most severe of these injuries had sliced through the World-Devouring Whale’s skin and bone, faintly revealing the organs within.
Li Chang’an moved closer, one step at a ti.
Sensing the presence of a stranger, the World-Devouring Whale’s eyes shot open. It imdiately turned, preparing to flee into the deeper reaches of spaceti.
Li Chang’an called out, "Senior, it’s !"
The World-Devouring Whale froze. It turned to look at Li Chang’an, and after a long pause, it spoke in astonishnt, "It’s you? You’re still alive?"
Li Chang’an asked, puzzled, "Why would you think I was dead?"
The World-Devouring Whale didn’t answer.
It hadn’t completely lowered its guard. It asked, "Everything outside is my territory. I laid so many defenses. How did you get in?"
Li Chang’an spread his hands and smiled. "I called for you outside the gate for a long ti, but you never answered. I have sothing urgent to ask, so I had to let myself in. My apologies, Senior!"
The World-Devouring Whale was silent. After a long pause, it finally spoke. "If I recall correctly, the Cultivator should have descended to the Lower Realm by now, shouldn’t they?"
’It had deliberately hidden itself in the Void, precisely so that damned Cultivator couldn’t find it. But now, the Cultivator hadn’t found it, yet here was Li Chang’an, waking it from its slumber. How could it not be utterly astonished?’
Li Chang’an nodded. "Yes. The Cultivator descended to the Lower Realm twenty years ago, but I killed them the very sa day."
The World-Devouring Whale: "..."
It didn’t know what to say.
’Even though it was probably that sa reckless Foundation Establishnt Stage Cultivator, they were still a Cultivator! Killed the very day they descended to the Lower Realm... The whole thing sounded completely surreal.’
After another long silence, the World-Devouring Whale spoke again. "You killed him, then you broke my Restriction and barged into the pocket dinsion I created. Are you truly not afraid of death in the slightest?"
Li Chang’an shook his head. "Senior, let’s not waste ti on pointless words. Of course I’m afraid of death. That’s why I’m still alive!"
’Of course I’m afraid of death, that’s why I’m still alive...’
The answer reminded the World-Devouring Whale of its last encounter with Li Chang’an. The young man had always been a gutsy one.
After calming down, the World-Devouring Whale changed the subject. "You went to all this trouble to find . What is it you want? Spit it out!"
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