After leaving the Beating Heart Cult, Wu Hong broke the space and traveled back to the Central Continent. However, she did not return to the Dao Opening Sect but headed to the east side of the continent.
Soon, she found herself in the Lifeless Domain–which was located at the very corner of the continent, with the ocean that separated the continents not too far.
She floated in the air as she looked at her surroundings.
The clouds were red, and they were constant, static, or never changing. Not a single one moved from their places, and it seems that they have been like this for eons.
The soil was grey; it was as if they were devoid of life. No plants, animals, or even living beings could be seen from hundreds of miles on.
The dichotomy between the ground and the sky gave the entire place a dreary and desperate atmosphere.
On top of everything else, there was not even a single ounce of spiritual energy, and the space was turbulent, making it very difficult to teleport. A baleful aura could be felt everywhere, trying to influence the mind of anyone who steps foot in this forbidden domain.
Wu Hong could feel that the Laws of Heaven and Earth in this place were chaotic–even destroyed. If any Void Shattered Realm or Saints were to step here, they would lose the ability to use the power of Law.
Only Supreme True Monarchs who have their own Dao Fruit would not be affected.
After a quick glance around, she flew toward one direction; she did not teleport this time.
She flew for a few hours with nothing or no one insight. And with her speed that is faster than light by many times, she traveled a great distance. When she was close to her destination, she finally saw someone.
It was an old man dressed in tattered robes with dirt all over his body. His long hair was disheveled and had no shoes on. He seemed to be muttering something non-stop. Unfortunately, his words were nothing but rambling; they made no sense whatsoever.
Wu Hong could tell that this man was a Saint trying to use this place as a way to temper his Dao Heart. Unfortunately, his Primordial Spirit was corroded by the baleful aura and he became crazy.
She looked at the crazy old man with a look of appreciation. Not anyone had the will to try such a harsh method of tempering themselves. Additionally, she could feel that this old man was still struggling to retain his sanity.
Nodding her head gently, Wu Hong pointed her finger at him, then a white light entered his Sea of Consciousness. Countless runes appeared and sealed a red aura that was surrounding the old man's Primordial Spirit.
Immediately afterward, he regained consciousness. The old man looked around but did not find anything. Nevertheless, he still cupped his hand and bowed:
"Thank you senior for saving the life-saving opportunity. If you can report your name, this younger generation promised to repay this karma one day."
The old man waited for a while but did not hear anything. However, a slight surprise flashed across his eyes, and hurriedly said:
"Thank you senior for passing the Law."
A few seconds ago, he received a cultivation technique that allowed him to absorb the baleful aura in this place to increase the strength of his Primordial Spirit.
Once his Primordial Spirit increases in strength, it will be easier for him to understand the laws between Heaven and Earth. Additionally, his soul will be more resistant to spiritual attack and interference.
And this is not even the greatest benefit that this technique will bring him. With it, his chances of breaking through the Supreme Realm have increased from less than 1% to 10%.
For him, this was the greatest fortunate encounter of his life. The old man immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times, then left in the opposite direction.
Although he would like to meet the senior and maybe even get to know them, this way, he might get even more benefit. However, he controlled his greed instead and was satisfied with what he got.
Meanwhile, Wu Hong left after giving this man a chance. The reason she did that was that she learned the concept of being an Old Grandpa that likes to give fortunate encounters to worthy people from Wang Wei.
You can say that it has become a hobby of hers.
After leaving the old man, Wu Hong flew for a few more hours before seeing a small, old cottage. With just a glance, one could see the vicissitudes of time from the old cottage.
She landed in front of the cottage and waited. A few seconds later, a middle-aged man dressed in plain black came out. He looked at the beautiful woman in front of him.
At first, he was perplexed how someone actually discovered this place before the appropriate time. However, as soon as he laid eyes on Wu Hong, his hands trembled slightly.
"E-E-Empress, is that you?"
She nodded her head slightly, then a complicated rune appeared in front of her. As soon as it manifested, Wu Feng felt a slight trembling from his bloodline.
"It really is you."
"What generation are you now?" asked Wu Hong.
"It has been so long that I forgot," replied Wu Feng. "However, our family has been keeping guard since you left, never breaking our oath."
"Very well," commented Wu Hong. Then, she pointed her finger at the man. A white light flew from it and entered his body. During the process, the man did not hesitate nor show any fear.
To him, if the Empress wanted to kill him, he would take the blade and hand it to her. Or better yet, doing it himself.
A few seconds after the white light entered his body, a black sphere came out of Wu Feng before dispersing. Then, he suddenly felt refreshed, like a mountain was removed from his shoulder.
His appearance changed from that of a middle-aged man to a youngster no more than 25 years old.
"I have sealed and removed all the hidden injuries caused by the constant baptizing of baleful aura. With your current Supreme Realm strength, you should be able to live a few more million years.
"Now, lead me to it."
Wu Feng bowed and led Wu Hong into the cottage. The space instantly became a little crowded, but neither of them minded. After taking out a token, Wu Feng activated it and the ground opened up, revealing a set of stairs.
The two then slowly descended with Wu Feng taking the lead. They soon passed through a long and dark corridor to find themselves in a large and empty space.
In the middle was a massive red Door Frame or Gate that was probably hundreds of thousands of miles in height. Countless formations could be seen around that Gate, and all of them exuded the aura of a Great Emperor.
As Wu Hong gazed at this gate, a slight smile appeared on her face. She could tell that these formations served as a seal, and the first one was laid by herself eons ago.
She then took out a small orb and handed it to Wu Feng.
"If nothing unexpected occurs, in this generation, the family will be freed from this mission. When the time comes, with this, you should be able to become an Immortal Venerable, attain immortality and pursue your own dreams and goals."
"Dreams and goals, huh?" muttered Wu Feng with a wry smile. "All I have ever known was my mission. Do I even have dreams and goals?"
"Finding out about this answer is also a good option."
Wu Feng nodded his head as he looked at the orb; he was hesitant about accepting it. Although his family has been guarding this place for many years, it was just a preventive measure.
Nothing of significance truly happened, so they did not do much. At the same time, they received many benefits. Whoever is chosen to become a guardian will receive all the necessary resources needed to cultivate to the Supreme Realm.
"There is no need for you to doubt whether you deserve such a reward," said Wu Hong. "How many people do you know could keep an oath for billions of years?"
After hearing this, Wu Feng was no longer polite and accepted the gift. He then bowed to Wu Hong before returning from the direction that she came. As for her, she headed straight to the gate.
As soon as she approached, many of the Emperor formations activated and prepared to destroy and annihilate her. With all these formations, any ordinary Great Emperor would be instantly slaughtered.
However, a strange wave came from Wu Hong's body stopping the activation of these formations. Then, a white transparent door appeared in the frame and she stepped into it.
Soon after that, Wu Hong was teleported to a very dark and gloomy space. She smelled the air and muttered:
"The smell of slaughter, death, sin, and depravity.. Nine Devil Gods World, it's been a long time."