Chapter 19

The Demon Emperor's Forbidden Realm.

Lu Shaoyou darted through the lush ancient trees, though these ancient trees gave him a strange feeling, he still mustered the courage to shoot deeper into the Forbidden Realm. Since stepping into the Forbidden Realm, the meticulous Lu Shaoyou noticed something different from the outside world: the air here seemed to be filled with a kind of smoke. It was white, extremely thin, and faintly floating in the air, somewhat similar to the dissolution he had learned in his previous life. However, this anti-physical phenomenon did not cause much concern for Lu Shaoyou, as his so-called atheism had long been discarded in some unknown corner since he came to this world.

Compared to the outside world, this place seemed to be mixed with an indescribable feeling, somewhat tragic but also somewhat desolate. Lu Shaoyou named it "Wasteland," both a feeling and a material appearance. Along the way, Lu Shaoyou had not seen any spiritual herbs, and the heavenly treasures were as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns. In the past, if he were in the minor dimensional world, there would have been piles of spiritual herbs, though these herbs were guarded by powerful fierce beasts, at least they existed. This place was vastly different; every life here was filled with a desolate aura. The vegetation that seemed to be full of vitality appeared withered and decayed in Lu Shaoyou's eyes, almost completely devoid of life.

"Nothing at all!?" Lu Shaoyou's eyebrows furrowed tightly, forming a faint '川' shape. "Abnormal! Too abnormal! As the saying goes, when something is abnormal, there must be something sinister. The more abnormal it is, the more dangerous this place is." Lu Shaoyou flew for about half an hour, but found no living creatures! Not even snakes, insects, rats, or ants!

Lu Shaoyou felt as if a sinister and deadly aura was entwining him, causing him to secretly break out in a cold sweat.

"Hmm... Finally approaching the core area of the forest! Eh...? What is that...?" Lu Shaoyou increased his flying speed while pushing his unnamed cultivation technique to the limit, a faint divine light enveloping his body to guard against any contingencies. Suddenly, a blinding flash of light appeared before his eyes. Lu Shaoyou squinted to look around, and at the same time, his Foundation Establishment stage divine sense suddenly spread out!

Desert! It was all desert! The core of a vast forest turned out to be a sea of sand! Just as Lu Shaoyou was still in shock, his divine sense was suddenly and forcefully blocked by an impenetrable barrier!

Clang—

A fierce roar echoed, and Lu Shaoyou felt a terrifying force crushing his divine sense! The thunderous sound stirred up a violent mental storm in Lu Shaoyou's sea of consciousness! Before Lu Shaoyou could react, he was plunged into an endless illusion. At the same time, the white gas that had been surrounding the silent forest suddenly boiled up, surging towards Lu Shaoyou, forming a vortex similar to a nebula!

Inside, Lu Shaoyou felt a sense of iron and blood, of war and slaughter, as if he had been drawn into a scroll of carnage. On one side, muscular men, like gods and demons, wielded battle axes, with terrifying battle qi surging from their bodies. Lu Shaoyou clearly felt that even a tiny fraction of these qi streams could crush him instantly! On the other side were elite forces, and the two sides seemed to be in battle, but due to the chaos, Lu Shaoyou could not see clearly. He could only sense that these gods, demons, and immortals with their profound cultivation were of a level that shook the ancient and modern worlds! At this moment, Lu Shaoyou felt his blood boiling, as if he were a hydrogen balloon, suddenly inflating. Lu Shaoyou shouted in his heart, "Stop! Stop!" But soon he realized the tragic fact that he could not control his body at all! He didn't know why!

Just as Lu Shaoyou's physical body was about to collapse, a golden divine sword slashed through the air, seemingly spanning ancient times and yet close at hand. This sword, carrying a massive shadow, swept across the sky, causing space to rupture, time to collapse, continents to sink, and stars to fall. The terrifying force directly shattered all attacks and slashed towards Lu Shaoyou!

"Boom—" Just as the giant sword was about to strike Lu Shaoyou, it suddenly veered, piercing towards a certain spot to the side, stabbing into a mysterious point in the void. A loud noise and a muffled groan echoed through the void, then instantly faded away. Lu Shaoyou's physical body suddenly felt a sense of relief, but his heart was heavy, as if he had been manipulated without any awareness! Yet, he had no reaction at all.

"Hmm...? What's going on!?" Lu Shaoyou suddenly stood up, spitting out a mouthful of blood, his body convulsing, and large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. "What is this...? It can actually suppress a cultivator's divine sense! It almost made my Foundation Establishment stage divine sense sea collapse! Too terrifying! Indeed, it is very sinister. I didn't expect there to be such a restriction here! The person who clearly knew about this restriction must have triggered this crisis. But who could have such cultivation...? Such a great figure wouldn't need to deal with me like this; they could crush me a thousand times with just a finger. Yet, they used this trick, which is... truly puzzling."

As Lu Shaoyou was still thinking, a strange feeling deep in his bones surged up, and he looked up as if sensing something. The golden holy sword had long disappeared, and the gods, demons, and immortals of war and slaughter seemed to have dissipated. Everything returned to calm, but Lu Shaoyou could clearly feel a pair of eyes piercing through the universe and the cycles of time, gently meeting his gaze.

From those eyes, Lu Shaoyou felt vastness, depth, vastness, nobility, antiquity, and沧桑 (cang桑, meaning "ancient and weathered"). More importantly, there was a sense of benevolence! Yes, that benevolence! It was somewhat similar to the look his mother gave him before she died, but this aura was even more grand and compassionate, with a sense of enlightening all beings.

"Who are you, no, who are you, Senior...?" Lu Shaoyou said softly, feeling that the gaze still existed. If someone were to observe Lu Shaoyou at this moment, they would be stunned. Lu Shaoyou was bathed in a faint golden light, appearing sacred and dignified, but his motionless conversation with the void greatly disrupted this sacredness, making him seem a bit absurd, like a fool sitting there, exuding a sacred aura.

Lu Shaoyou stared fixedly at the eyes in the void, waiting for a response, but received none. The eyes continued to gaze at him faintly.

"Kid, you don't need to look. No matter how much you look, you'll only see a homosexual." A lazy voice suddenly sounded from behind Lu Shaoyou.

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