Chapter 1359: Bifrost
Three days soon pa.s.sed, and Lu Yin finally left White Mountain. He was accompanied by Long Xi and they rode on the Envoy level beast that was Elder Long Kui’s mount. He called the beast Gui.
The Envoy level creature was quite fast, and it traveled high in the sky. It took only the blink of an eye for White Mountain to disappear.
According to Long Xi, they were making their way to the Lower Realm; Lu Yin was to pay homage to the Python Ancestor.
Every member of the main family of the White Dragon Clan needed to pay homage to the Python Ancestor.
Lu Yin was both nervous and a bit excited at the thought of seeing the ma.s.sive Progenitor python that was large enough to wrap itself around a Mother Tree. It was a Progenitor! Lu Yin was about to see his first Progenitor.
They quickly pa.s.sed by various mountains, and even with the speed that the Envoy level beast traveled at, Lu Yin was still able to see as they moved along. In the Fifth Mainland, all creatures would retreat when an Envoy appeared, but in this strange universe, they occasionally heard provocative roars.
There was no lack of beasts with the strength of an Envoy in this universe. Lu Yin shuddered whenever he heard a challenge, as he was dreading the aspect of them encountering a creature with a power level of more than a million that could simply swallow them all.
The Middle Realm was quite large, and not even the speed of Gui was enough for them to quickly reach the Bifrost.
There was an invisible barrier on the back of Gui that protected Lu Yin and the others from the pressure of the wind due to their incredible speed. Lu Yin touched the creature’s back, and when he saw that Long Xi and the others were not paying attention to him, he smacked the creature. It had very thick skin.
He smacked it again, harder, and the force of his strike crushed a scale, causing Lu Yin to immediately stop, as he was worried about a crushed scale being discovered.
However, his worries were baseless. Gui was an astral beast, and its defenses were not something that a human could compare to. In the past, Lu Yin had once forced back Emperor Luo with a Vacuum Palm, and had also injured Leader Hong, but it would be impossible to injure Gui, especially when Lu Yin was merely smacking a scale.
The beast did not even notice Lu Yin’s actions.
“It’s dangerous to go down to the Lower Realm, so we can only go to see the Python Ancestor. No one else will protect you, so stay close behind me,.” Long Xi casually ordered from where she sat in front of Lu Yin.
Lu Yin snorted. They were getting closer and closer to the rainbow in front of them. White Mountain was not that far from the Bifrost, but it was still a vast distance. The Nong family’s Seed Garden was actually further away.
There were still times that Lu Yin could not fathom how a tree could be so big; this Mother Tree was holding up a realm comparable to the size of the entire Outerverse. He simply could not imagine a python that could wrap itself around such a large tree. This universe was destroying his common sense.
Something even more antagonistic of his common sense soon appeared: he set foot on a rainbow.
The Bifrost could be traversed like solid ground, and there were actually buildings, armies, and even rivers on top of it. The rivers were colorful, and were the exact same color as the rainbow beneath them.
Was this a rainbow? Or a bridge?
The Bifrost was enormous, though the full width of the bridge could be seen from White Mountain. It ran through all three Realms from top to bottom. Even if the entire White Mountain was moved, it would still be nothing next to the Bifrost. In this place, Shenwu’s Sky was supposed to be in charge.
The red light beneath his feet felt as soft as sand, which surprised Lu Yin, though he did not show it.
The colors of the rainbow were each moving and flowing, so there was no need for Lu Yin to move on his own. There were seven colors—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple—and they flowed in alternating directions. Red flowed downwards towards the Lower Realm, while orange flowed in the opposite direction towards the Higher Realm. Each of the colors moved extremely fast.
Lu Yin and Long Xi were far from being the only people traveling to the Lower Realm, and there were many more people from the Middle Realm going in the same direction. Most of the people were part of expedition teams, but they did not dare to approach Lu Yin and his group.
From the books he had read, Lu Yin knew that the Lower Realm was one of the most dangerous places in this entire universe. As far as most people were concerned, the Lower Realm was among the Mother Tree’s roots, and the place was full of terrifying creatures. These creatures survived by attacking the Mother Tree. Even the Mother Tree could be destroyed, not to mention the people who lived on the Mother Tree.
The Python Ancestor also lived in the Lower Realm.
The red stripe of the Bifrost was flowing towards the Lower Realm, so Lu Yin and his group settled down. There was no one else around them, and the closest person was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away. This place was too big.
Right as Lu Yin and his party began heading towards the Lower Realm, other groups of people stepped onto the Bifrost, and Lu Yin’s image appeared in their minds. He was their target for a.s.sa.s.sination.
There was no place in the universe darker than the Lower Realm, and since the White Dragon Clan members could not be protected by others when they visited the Python Ancestor, this was the best time to target such a person.
As the Rainbow Bridge gradually brought them closer to the Lower Realm, Lu Yin gradually saw the endless underground. This was the Lower Realm. The entire place was slightly moist, and had a strangely rich scent.
When he looked into the distance, he could see clouds down below, and even further down a vague outline of the land that made up the Lower Realm.
When they arrived at the Lower Realm, Lu Yin’s breath suddenly caught. He sounded startled, as if he had been shocked by something.
Long Xi asked Lu Yin, “Have you been to the Lower Realm before?”
Lu Yin did not know how to answer her without his origins being discovered.
“It’s normal for you not to have come here, so there’s no need to hide things,” Long Xi said.
Lu Yin coughed, but said nothing.
“The Lower Realm is extremely dangerous and is home to all kinds of creatures. The only thing these beasts live for is to destroy the roots and the trunk of the Mother Tree. Everything grows by absorbing nutrients, and the Mother Tree is no exception. You can regard these creatures as the enemies of the Mother Tree, and by that token, and also the enemy of humanity. The enemy of our enemy,” Long Xi said. After a pause, she continued, “According to what is known, an unknown number of these creatures are born every year, and also every year, members of my White Dragon Clan die here in the Lower Realm. None of the four top powers are an exception to this.
“As for the expedition teams that travel to the Lower Realm, their death toll can’t even be calculated. Some of these people get hired by the Root Organization, while others come to make their fortune or to explore to find valuable items, such as rare natural resources.”
Lu Yin understood that since the Mother Tree absorbed nutrients, the Mother Tree’s roots in the Lower Realm had to be in the place that held the most nutrients. As these nutrients were absorbed and carried upwards, natural treasures were formed.
Everything had a positive and negative aspect. The Mother Tree absorbed nutrients from the universe itself in order to survive, but the universe could not allow a Mother Tree to absorb said nutrients without restraint. Thus, there had to be creatures that tried to destroy the Mother Tree and acted as parasites.
Everything in this universe seemed to have been carefully organized.
“There are many different areas in the Lower Realm, and it is actually much larger than the Middle Realm or the Higher Realm. We’re headed for the third region, which is where the Python Ancestor’s head is located. Because the Python Ancestor’s head is there, that region isn’t particularly dangerous. Still, neither of us will have Elder Long Kui and Gui’s protection, so we will need to be very careful. Over the years, many people have died in the third region,” Long Xi said.
If Lu Yin was not able to investigate the connection between the Celestial Frost Sect and the finger from his dreams, then it seemed this place in the Lower Realm would be the best place for him to visit outside of the White Dragon Clan.
The red flowed down on the Bifrost, and Lu Yin stretched out a hand into the clouds and let the cool mist drift over his hand.
Off in the distance, there was a stream of air that strangely started approaching the group, and it carried a strength that shook everything in the air and on the ground. Lu Yin’s expression changed a bit, as this was a powerful attack.
Gui raised a clawed paw and slashed out, tearing through the gust of air. There was a roar from the distance, and a ma.s.sive head rose up in that place. It was connected to a long neck. It looked at them from far away with savage eyes as it opened its mouth to roar.
Gui was furious that a beast that did not even have the power of an Envoy would dare provoke them. This creature did not have as many heads as Gui, but it was arrogant. It prepared to roar once again as a show of its power. Suddenly, another beast appeared next to the first one. It sported a head that was ten times the size of the first beast’s head, and when it fully lifted its neck, it stretched past the clouds and was almost level with Lu Yin and the others. It then roared at them.
Lu Yin’s entire back instantly went ice cold. He judged that this second beast surpa.s.sed the strength of Gui, and was immensely powerful. Was this the Lower Realm?
Gui was clearly stunned for a moment, then he cowardly dropped his two heads down and wailed.
Long Kui’s mouth twitched. This was humiliating.
At this time, another, even larger head rose up high. This creature was even bigger and taller than the second giant beast that had popped up.
Long Kui was stunned. There were three heads raised high and staring at their group. All of them felt a chill surge over them.
Lu Yin was dumbfounded; was this a family of three? Did that actually happen?
Long Xi had a horrible expression on her face. They were encountering beasts with this level of power the moment they entered the Lower Realm. This was not the same as previous trips.
Gui fell down, fully revealing what a coward he was.
Fortunately, the family of three beasts did not attack the small group. The smallest of the three beasts happily roared, looking quite proud of itself, but it was then smacked down by the largest beast. The smaller creature roared anxiously. If these three ma.s.sive beasts were not so large, but more the size of pets, they would look like a cute family.
Lu Yin let out a sigh of relief. They were okay. They were fine. Lu Yin glanced at Gui. He had expected the creature to be old and powerful, and had never considered that the beast would be such a coward. Gui could only be pushed around.
Long Kui coughed. “Princess, be careful. The Lower Realm changes each year, and sometimes even daily. As soon as you finish visiting the Python Ancestor, leave without lingering around. Even if you see something strange, don’t rush to seize it. It’s easy to lose your life down here.”
Long Xi nodded. “I know.”
Lu Yin began to feel that his thoughts had been a bit naive. He had believed that descending to visit the Lower Realm would provide him with his best chance to escape the White Dragon Clan, but it would be too easy to lose his life in this place if he was not careful.
The Bifrost did not actually stop at the Lower Realm, but Lu Yin and the others got off of the bridge. At this time, Gui was behaving more in line with his true nature, as he did not dare create too much of a commotion. He quietly led the humans away from the Bifrost, and his huge body slowly landed in a forest that stood next to the Bifrost.
Long Kui said, “Princess, we can only take yo this far. Be careful the rest of the way.”
Long Xi nodded. “Thank you, Elder.”
After speaking, she turned to Lu Yin and said, “Let’s go.”
Lu Yin nodded to Long Kui before stepping onto the rotten leaves on the ground and following after Long Xi. “Do you know the way?”
“The White Dragon Clan is very familiar with the third region, and even if one of us hasn’t visited the place before, all of us have the map completely memorized,” Long Xi said.
“How big is the third region?” Lu Yin asked.
Long Xi took a moment to consider the question. “About as big as going from White Mountain to the Bifrost.”
Lu Yin was stunned. That was too big. To cover that much distance, they would need to fly for several days, even if they moved at the same speed as Gui. If the two of them were to travel that distance, they would need at least about ten days, and that was also flying through the sky without meeting any obstructions.
However, flying through the sky in this place was basically asking for death.
Lu Yin and Long Xi walked along as Long Kui quietly remained in place and watched them leave.
Half a day later, another group of people arrived. They were led by a muscular man who carried an enormous iron weapon that was ten meters long. He led more than ten people and they all made their way towards the third region.
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