Under the circumstances, the Peak Profound Immortal of the Great Peaks Immortal Sect made the most prudent decision.
The bloodstained figure who had fled into Jade Lake could not possibly be Peak Lord Gu Lian; it had to be the mysterious Immortal who had destroyed the Sect.
If the Immortal's injuries were not severe and they returned, the Great Peaks Immortal Sect would face certain annihilation. Even if the Immortal had succumbed to their wounds, the stronghold was no longer safe and had to be abandoned.
Splitting their forces was therefore essential. At worst, it would ensure the Sect's Inheritance remained unbroken.
Ideally, if the team pursuing the Immortal into Jade Lake could slay their quarry, it would eliminate the Sect's lingering threat and allow them to weather this crisis.
The other Immortals swiftly agreed. Using their immortal techniques, they transferred the surviving Sect cultivators into their Cave Heavens, relocated numerous Secret Treasuries and vital Palaces, and rapidly evacuated in less than ten breaths.
Above Jade Lake, the remaining four Profound Immortals and sixteen True Immortals exchanged resolute glances, steeling themselves for death as they plunged into the jade-green depths.
Once they departed, the entire Great Peaks Immortal Sect fell into deathly silence. This once-great Immortal Sect, which had parasitically occupied the shell of the Profound Nuwa Immortal Sect, had lost all semblance of its former glory in less than an hour.
Meanwhile, Han Yi, who had escaped into Jade Lake, was indeed wounded, as the Great Wei Immortals had predicted, and his injuries were quite severe.
In his final, desperate assault, Golden Immortal Gu Lian had detonated his Fifth-Rank Jade Ruyi. Before it could explode, Han Yi shattered it with fragments of his Heavenly Demon Halberd and then blocked the blast with his Sword Realm, barely managing to withstand the devastating attack.
The price, however, was steep. Another crack appeared in the Heavenly Demon Halberd fragment, stretching halfway across its surface, and five of his thirteen Immortal Swords were destroyed, including two Fourth-Tier blades.
With his Jade Ruyi gone, Gu Lian posed no further threat. He ultimately perished beneath Han Yi's sword light, his Immortal Robe torn but not fatally damaged.
Most importantly, from the fragments of Gu Lian's Immortal Soul after his self-destruction, Han Yi glimpsed the secret of Jade Lake. The place Gu Lian had believed to be a blessed grotto-heaven shook Han Yi to his core.
For it was unmistakably a Divine Aperture World severed from an Ancient God, and, as he had suspected, it was indeed the First Divine Aperture.
Having visited the Void God's Tomb, delved into countless fragments of Ancient Gods' memories, and uncovered numerous secrets related to them, and having inherited the Ten Thousand Realms Fate Unification Divine Canon, which contained extensive information about Ancient Gods, Han Yi was confident in his judgment.
Recalling the legend that Jade Lake had existed even before the shattering of the Primordial Great World, formed from the wreckage of a peerless treasure surpassing even Dao Artifacts, Han Yi instantly concluded that the lake must be connected to the Ancient Gods of the Primordial Era.
Therefore, his descent into Jade Lake wasn't due to severe injuries rendering him unable to fight, but rather to swiftly locate the Divine Aperture World before its entrance closed, making it difficult to find. As for the surviving Immortals of the Great Peaks Immortal Sect, they were insignificant compared to the Divine Aperture World hidden beneath Jade Lake.
His actions were misinterpreted by the Great Peaks Immortals, who believed he had lost his combat ability and was fleeing the battlefield.
Guided by the information gleaned from the Ancient Lian Immortal Soul Fragment, Han Yi plunged into Jade Lake. Despite his grievous wounds, he unleashed his full power, desperately accelerating toward the lake's depths. In just six breaths, he traversed nearly a hundred li, reaching the lakebed.
There, before a small earthen mound, he found the marker left by Golden Immortal Gu Lian. Erasing it, he allowed himself to sink, descending to a spot on the mound's northern side.
When Han Yi's body made contact with the silt, he felt no resistance, as if the lakebed's sediment occupied a different spatial dimension. A faint suction force pulled him downward.
Overjoyed, Han Yi surrendered to the pull and sank into the mud.
Once he had completely submerged, no trace of him remained on the surface of Jade Lake—not even the slightest wisp of his aura could be detected.
At that moment, even a Golden Immortal would have struggled to discover the entrance to a Cave Heaven hidden beneath the lakebed.
In truth, Golden Immortal Gu Lian's discovery of this Cave Heaven entrance had been purely accidental. Periodically, a faint divine light would surge outward from the entrance, and Gu Lian happened to arrive at the edge of Jade Lake during one such eruption. This fortuitous timing allowed him to later use the Cave Heaven to suppress his injuries.
Now, as Han Yi sank into the mud, space warped around him, and suddenly a brilliant golden light flooded his vision.
A vast ocean of concentrated divine power stretched before him. The instant he made contact, every pore on his body opened, and the power surged into his veins. Within him, countless Divine Aperture Worlds began undergoing a rapid transformation.
"Divine power..."
"Heavens! Such a vast and unclaimed sea of divine power!"
"No wonder the Ancient Lian Immortal Soul Fragment allowed him to suppress his injuries within this Cave Heaven," Han Yi mused. "Even without being of the Ancient God lineage, ordinary cultivators could cultivate to become Fifth-Tier Ancient Gods by bathing in this divine power, reaching the strongest divine power state below the Primordial Realm."
Han Yi sat cross-legged and began circulating the Ten Thousand Realms Fate Unification Divine Canon. Though exceptionally profound in essence, this divine canon was notoriously difficult to cultivate. To this day, he remained stuck at the introductory level, having only mastered four Knowing Destiny tier divine arts.
However, Han Yi was accustomed to unleashing the Ancient Flame Moon God's Nine Transformations Divine Art, a technique better suited to his current stage.
At that moment, as he absorbed, refined, and integrated countless strands of unclaimed golden divine power into his Divine Aperture World, the Ten Thousand Realms Fate Unification Divine Canon advanced at an astonishing pace.
One year, two years, three years...
While Han Yi was immersed in absorbing the divine power, the twenty Great Wei Immortals in Jade Lake had thoroughly searched the entire area multiple times, yet they failed to discover any trace of him.
The Profound Immortal recalled Peak Lord Gu Lian's earlier appearance, noting that he had also emerged from the direction of Jade Lake at a suspiciously convenient time. This led him to believe that Gu Lian was likely hiding within the lake itself.
He concluded that a hidden Cave Heaven lay beneath Jade Lake.
Peak Lord Gu Lian had been inside this Cave Heaven before his sudden appearance, and the mysterious Profound Immortal who had escaped into Jade Lake after sustaining severe injuries had also sought refuge there.
With this discovery, he led the other Immortals in probing attacks beneath the vast Jade Lake, attempting to disrupt Han Yi's secluded healing and force him out.
But after six years of fruitless efforts, he finally abandoned the search. Leading nineteen Immortals, he left Jade Lake and headed west.
Their second stronghold was located in the western reaches of the Lingxiao Immortal Court, far removed from the Profound Nuwa Immortal Sect at the opposite end of the court. It was also quite distant from their former rival Golden Immortal Sects.
They had initially chosen the Profound Nuwa Immortal Sect as their primary base because their foundation in the Jade Lake Immortal Domain was relatively strong. Moving to the far west of Lingxiao would eliminate immediate threats, but starting from scratch would require far more time.
However, after the Han Yi incident, they had no other choice. For the Sect's survival, they had to abandon their past and rebuild anew in western Lingxiao.
Time passed swiftly. Eighteen years later...
Beneath Jade Lake, within a masterless Divine Aperture World, Han Yi opened his eyes. He stared at the vast sea of divine power before him, barely diminished since his arrival. His own Divine Aperture World was brimming with divine power, his physical body feeling almost painfully full. He couldn't help but stare in bewildered amazement.
This Divine Aperture World... something's not right.
As the thought formed, he realized eighteen years had passed since he entered this place. His injuries had long since healed, and his cultivation of the Ancient God System had advanced by leaps and bounds. Slowly, he rose to his feet, silver fire flickering in his eyes as he attempted to discern the truth of this mysterious realm of divine power.
Moments later, he gasped in shock, his expression changing drastically.
"I was wrong! Golden Immortal Gu Lian's theory was incorrect."
"This isn't a true Cave Heaven at all. It's merely a small space partitioned off by the Grotto-Heaven Boundary Wall."
"This confined space is attached to the real Divine Aperture World. A portion of the Divine Aperture World's divine power overflows into it. Periodically, when this space becomes saturated, the excess power is forced outward—toward the bottom of Jade Lake, which explains the occasional bursts of divine light."
"Golden Immortal Gu Lian stumbled upon this overflowing divine light, allowing him to enter this place."
"Now it all makes sense."
Han Yishen took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. If his theory was correct, the true Divine Aperture World lay hidden in the depths beneath Jade Lake, originating from an Ancient God of immense power.
According to the ancient classification of Ancient God cultivation realms—Primordial, Supreme Truth, Void Extremity, Creation Transformation, Immeasurable, and Primordial Ancestor—a Divine Aperture World possessing such terrifying divine power must belong to at least the Creation Transformation Realm, equivalent to an Immortal Monarch or Immortal Sovereign in the modern Immortal Realm.
It might even originate from an Immeasurable Realm Ancient God, comparable to a Dao Ancestor.
!
Han Yishen ventured deeper into the heart of the divine power, his body beginning to transform into the True Body of an Ancient God. After eighteen years of absorbing divine power, his Ancient God Realm had nearly reached the peak of the Primordial Realm.
Ten Thousand Realms Fate Unification Divine Canon (Primordial Realm 97/100).
The True Body of an Ancient God he now manifested stood twenty-nine thousand zhang tall, nearing the Primordial Realm's maximum height of thirty thousand zhang.
Once Han Yishen fully transformed into his True Body, he didn't feel cramped at all. The small space attached to the Divine Aperture World was surprisingly vast.
Three breaths later, Han Yishen finally reached the deepest part of the divine power realm. Before him stood an ordinary-looking World Barrier, yet through his Ancient God's Body, he sensed that this very barrier was the source of all the divine power.
With a thought, Han Yi extended his hand, his massive Divine Palm plunging into the World Barrier. With a thunderous roar, he attempted to tear it apart, but no matter how much force he exerted, the barrier remained as steadfast as ever, showing no signs of yielding.
A realization struck Han Yi. Divine power surged forth, enveloping his Divine Palm in a golden radiance.
In the next instant, the World Barrier before him slowly parted.
Thrilled, he understood that by absorbing the unowned divine power within this space, he had forged a connection to it. Even a Golden Immortal would struggle to breach this barrier without such a bond.
No wonder Golden Immortal Gu Lian could only use the divine power here to suppress his injuries, unable to unravel the secrets of this space. It wasn't a lack of desire, but a lack of ability.
Having torn through the barrier, Han Yi stepped inside. In an instant, the space transformed, and he found himself in an unfamiliar world.
A sea of liquefied divine power rippled gently beneath his feet.
As far as the eye could see, golden oceans stretched endlessly, dotted with crystalline Divine Mountains formed from crystallized divine power.
Beyond this, there was nothing else.
Han Yi's heart surged with ecstasy. No wonder the divine power in that small space had been so intensely concentrated—the true Divine Aperture World was this breathtaking spectacle that made him tremble with delight.
The divine power in that small space was merely gaseous, far from liquefying. In contrast, within this true Divine Aperture World, all the divine power had liquefied, even crystallizing into towering Divine Mountains.
Han Yi lowered his gaze and noticed that most of these crystalline Divine Mountains floated above the Divine Sea, with only a few connecting to the depths below. As he peered into the abyss, his eyes narrowed.
"Divine Power Crystals."
"This vast Divine Sea, so immense that my Immortal Sense cannot perceive its boundaries, rests upon a colossal foundation of Divine Power Crystals."
"Such terrifyingly immense divine power couldn't possibly belong to a mere Creation Transformation Realm Ancient God. It must be an Ancient God of the Immeasurable Realm."
"In other words, I am currently within the Divine Aperture World of an Ancient God equivalent to an Immortal Dao Ancestor—an Immeasurable Realm Ancient God in the Ancient God System."
Han Yi took another deep breath. It wasn't that he lacked worldly experience, but this Divine Affinity far surpassed anything he had encountered before, repeatedly unsettling him.
He flew forward, collecting the floating crystalline Divine Mountains into his Divine Aperture World. While moving the entire Divine Aperture World was beyond his capabilities, gathering some of its crystalline formations was feasible.
Thus, Han Yi tirelessly collected Divine Power Crystals within this Divine Aperture World, eventually filling every available space within his own Divine Aperture World.
Having broken through to the Primordial Realm, Han Yi's Divine Aperture World was no longer limited to the First Yuan's 129,600 apertures. It now contained approximately 200,000, a relatively modest number. Theoretically, he could create countless more with a mere thought, but doing so would undoubtedly strain his body, making it unwise.
Moreover, after filling the majority of his 200,000 apertures with Divine Power Crystals, Han Yi sensed that his True Body of the Ancient God had become immeasurably heavier than before.
He ceased collecting crystals and instead used an Escape Technique, navigating according to the terrain beneath the Divine Sea, to travel toward its central region.
Ten days later, after traversing immeasurable distances, he finally stopped and gazed ahead.
Before him, a colossal weapon was embedded in the Divine Sea—a spear.
A golden spear of unimaginable grandeur, immensity, and wonder.
Its tip pierced into the Divine Power Crystals beneath the seabed, while its shaft shattered the surface of the Divine Sea, leaving nearly half of its length exposed above the waves.
With a single glance, Han Yi roughly estimated the spear's length: 300,000 zhang, equivalent to 2,000 li, or roughly 1,000 kilometers.
Yet even as he saw it, he knew this was not the spear's true form. It had been shrunk. If it were to revert to its original size, its length would far exceed what he currently beheld.
Even now, Han Yi had an incredible thought that he himself found astonishing: the spear had shrunk because the Divine Aperture World couldn't withstand its transformation into its true form.
Gazing at the spear and sensing its heart-stopping, boundless Divine Might, Han Yi murmured: