Lin Xun had a rough guess how this had occurred. His master should have lived for many epochs and had high prestige in the Sea of Fate. Only this explained why such an ancient powerhouse like Daoist Shanfeng would know about these tales.

He had learned from Zhong Qiu that his master had helped the Origin Sect's founder, Yuan Chu, and the Spirit Sect's founder, Xu Yin, to seize an opportunity to go to the All-Wonder Dominion in the Sea of Fate. As a result, they had offended Founder Tian Wu of the Shaman Sect and Founder Shi of the Zen Sect.

This was also the reason why the Origin Sect and the Spirit Sect had always been so protective of Fangchun Mountain disciples.

Xing Jianxia asked, “Shanfeng, how many people are left from the Martial Dao Epoch today?”

“Aside from me, there's only Old Baize, Xiao He, and Old Mu left.”[1] The violet-robed Shanfeng lamented, “As our number keeps going down, it becomes harder and harder to compete for a lotus. In the competition before this one, I teamed up with the three of them, but we came away empty-handed. Old Baize and Old Mu even sustained serious injuries, so neither of them participated this time.”

“Who injured them?” Xing Jianxia frowned.

Daoist Shanfeng boomed with laughter. “In a dao competition, anyone is an enemy. You'd have a long list to go through if you start trying to take revenge.”

“I just want to know who injured the two of them.” Xing Jianxia appeared insistent.

Daoist Shanfeng went silent for a moment before he said, “I know you want to avenge them, but just this once, forget about it.”

“If you don't tell me, fine, I will investigate it myself.” Xing Jianxia snorted and asked, “So, only you and Xiao He came this time?”

“Yeah.” Daoist Shanfeng nodded.

“Where's Xiao He?” Xing Jianxia inquired.

“Uh...” Daoist Shanfeng was stunned. A jade pendant then appeared in his palm, and he focused on sensing it. A short while later, his eyes narrowed and his expression sank. “Xiao He's aura is fluctuating nonstop. He's clearly in a battle!”

Xing Jianxia's heart tightened. “Then why are you standing around? Let’s go!”

“Alright!” Daoist Shanfeng led the way.

Xing Jianxia, Fu Nanli, and Lin Xun followed him. On the way, Xing Jianxia informed Lin Xun about their past through transmission.

As it turned out, Xing Jianxia, Daoist Shanfeng, Xiao He, and the others had known each other since a very long time ago. Together, they had traveled through numerous epochs and encountered many a Great Silence Unlife Calamity.

However, after the destruction of the last epoch, Xing Jianxia had decided to enter the Spirit Martial Epoch with his master, Yuan Chu. As a result, he had ended up in Spirit Martial World in this epochal calamity preceding period.

As a matter of fact, such a situation was common in all the epochal worlds in the Sea of Fate. Whenever an epoch was faced with destruction, some chose to remain in the Sea of Fate and continued to wait, while others chose to enter the new epoch to pursue further cultivation.

The latter case, consequently, would appear in the corresponding ‘dimension world’ when they entered the Sea of Fate again before the latest epochal calamity. Xing Jianxia, who had ended up in Spirit Martial World this time, was an example of this.

Meanwhile, those who remained in the Sea of Fate would remain in their original epochal world. An example was Daoist Shanfeng, who had chosen to stay behind in Martial Dao World back then. That was why even though he and Xing Jianxia were old friends, they came from different epochal planes in the Sea of Fate.

Lin Xun was well aware of this. It was what he had been concerned about when he had asked Zhong Qiu, Ruo Su, and the others about their decision. If they remained in the Sea of Fate, they would not be able to challenge the Great Silence Unlife Calamity, thus they'd be stuck with the peak Creation Realm as the highest limit.

However, if those senior brothers and sisters chose to enter the new epoch to cultivate, they would have to wait for a lengthy period of time before they were qualified to compete over the All-Wonder Dominion.

This was because only when the epochal calamity descended would they be able to attempt crossing the Great Silence Unlife Calamity. Then, only by succeeding it and breaking into the Immeasurable Realm could they have the chance to enter the world within the Sea of Fate.

At that time, however, they would no longer appear in Spirit Martial World but instead in a new world corresponding to the epoch from where they left.

It was worth mentioning that, while most Eternal cultivators would be blasted to death by the Great Silence Unlife Calamity before each epochal calamity, there were likewise heaven-defying talents who had survived multiple Great Silence Unlife Calamities.

That being said, more of them would choose to dodge it entirely by escaping to the Kunlun Dominion. In short, some died trying to cross the tribulation presented by this calamity, some successfully crossed it, and some chose to hide at the Sea of Fate.

The Immeasurable Realm was known as the realm of great freedom that enabled cultivators to roam epochs.

This was by no means an exaggeration because being able to survive the Great Silence Unlife Calamity was exceedingly difficult. Furthermore, those who had achieved the Greater Boundless level had crossed at least three Great Silence Unlife Calamities.

In other words, Xing Jianxia, Fu Nanli, Ren Futian, Xinhu, Leisong, and the others had all lived through multiple epochs before they were able to possess the kind of cultivation bases they had now.

Additionally, the more Great Silence Unlife Calamities one crossed meant the more powerful one was. This was common knowledge because after all, the next Great Silence Unlife Calamity would always be a notch stronger than the last. When someone survived it time and time again, there was naturally nothing to doubt about their strength.

However, in the final analysis, Greater Boundless Eternals ultimately were still in the Immeasurable Realm.

A Lesser Boundless Eternal like Jue Wutian was able to contend with Greater Boundless experts by virtue of his ridiculous battle prowess that was built on heaven-defying foundation and heritage.

The reason why he was identified as a Lesser Boundless Eternal was nothing more than the fact that he had yet to cross his third Great Silence Unlife Calamity. If he were to challenge more of this tribulation, his strength would definitely carry him through.

Simply put, the number of times a cultivator had crossed the Great Silence Unlife Calamity was a major criterion in gauging the strength of an Immeasurable Eternal, but it was not the only standard. Lesser Boundless Eternals like Jue Wutian, Ji Tianqing, and Ziche Chong were living proof.

On this note, Lin Xun, despite being a Creation Eternal, had already transcended the change of epochs and embarked on a path unique from virtually the rest. Therefore, be it now or in the future, he could not be measured by the standards used for typical Immeasurable Eternals.

Everyone knew that the mastermind behind the epochal calamity was the Alpha Origin Master, and only they could interfere with and borrow the power of the Great Silence Unlife Calamity. Through them, a Heavenly Mandate Apostle like Yingshan Ying had been able to use the power of this calamity, and so was the Alpha Origin Bell who hailed from that same mastermind.

In regard to where the Great Silence Unlife Calamity originated from, Lin Xun for now could only deduce that it had to be somewhere in the All-Wonder Dominion. This was highly probable as it could explain why venerated sages such as the Lord of Fangchun Mountain, Chen Lingkong, and the golden cicada had all traveled there.

Similarly, Lin Xun could guess why the Alpha Origin Master was able to exploit the Great Silence Unlife Calamity. Because according to Yingshan Ying, this mastermind figure had been trapped in the All-Wonder Dominion since extremely long ago!

As a result, their identity was shrouded in mystery, and only those who had entered the All-Wonder Dominion had the chance to find it out!

As for the power of the Alpha Origin Master that enveloped the Fortune Dominion, it had nothing to do with the epochal calamity since it was created from the Alpha Origin Principle.

Lin Xun had begun to understand these secrets as early as when he had suppressed the trace of Alpha Origin Principle contained in the Alpha Origin Stone Statue.

......

Following Daoist Shanfeng’s lead, the group heard the intense rumble of a battle less than fifteen minutes later.

Lin Xun’s spirit sense already captured the on-going scene in that distant area. There, a black-robed man was being caught in the pincer attack of two opponents: a man and a woman.

The man looked like a monarch, wearing a lotus crown and a robe with wind and fire patterns. His every movement set off a sea of violet-gold law power. The woman was clad in a phoenix gown with long, snow-white hair and fair, glowing skin. She held a green palm-leaf fan, every swing of which conjured a storm of rampant green law power with terrifying destructiveness.

The black-robed man under their siege had a huge physique. Welding a black broadsword in each hand, he was powerful in the raging sword intent that he created. However, his situation clearly didn't look bright. He was being suppressed to the point where he could barely lift his head.

Instantly, Daoist Shanfeng's expression turned unsightly. “It's that treacherous pair, Demon Chu and Yun Xiangzi!”

"Again? This isn't the first time they have done this to Xiao He?" Xing Jianxia's face dropped.

The black-robed man under siege was none other than Xiao He. His opponents, Demon Chu and Yun Xiangzi, were a pair of evil lords from the Demonic Epoch, both of whom were Greater Boundless Eternals.

“I'll explain it to you later,” said Daoist Shanfeng who then summoned a battle blade and charged towards the battlefield. “Xiao He, I'm coming!”

Without hesitation, Xing Jianxia called upon his Thunderous Pagoda and rushed over as well. Fu Nanli and Lin Xun were right behind him.

“Tsk tsk, your helpers are here already, old man Xiao He. So be it, I'll let you prolong your life for a little while and come back to claim it later.”

From far away, the man in the lotus crown and the woman in the phoenix gown retreated before Xing Jianxia’s trio could arrive.

Swish! Swish!

Their silhouettes flickered, decisively teleporting away without a second of hesitation. They clearly had realized that it was no longer possible to kill Xiao He here.

“Demon Chu, stop running if you have the balls!!!” roared Daoist Shanfeng, his killing intent rolling.

“Shanfeng, don't waste your energy.” Xiao He hurriedly stopped him. “When those two bastards want to escape, very few can catch up with them.”

“Hahaha, Xiao He, Shanfeng, don't go thinking Xing Jianxia and his lot will be able to help you just because they got into Fate Lotus World. Just wait and see!”

Demon Chu's loud, unbridled laughter echoed in the horizon.

“After all these years, old bastard Chu Bugu has become even more arrogant than before...” Xing Jianxia couldn't help but frown, a touch of fury fleeting across his face.

1. Xiao He was originally a Lesser Boundless Eternal from the Shaman Sect, not sure why the author reused his name here ☜