Chapter 572: Void Atlas

"How could a Five Tribulation Realm expert be so young?" Meng Chuan was slightly taken aback, then watched the ancient mirror with some curiosity.

This mirror could surprisingly determine his exact age.

Such treasures could only be forged by highly accomplished masters of the time lineage. A single reflection from the mirror could reveal the exact duration of a being's life. Meng Chuan had indeed lived for one thousand five hundred and eighty-seven years since his birth.

"How did you become a Five Tribulation Realm expert in just over a thousand years?" the man with the human body and snake tail pressed. "And you cultivate both body and soul, plus you've mastered two Five Tribulation Realm rules. How can your cultivation be so incredibly fast?"

At that moment, he had many theories.

Was he a reincarnator? A cosmic wonder creature? The most prodigious genius to create an ultimate Emperor-level profound art? Or perhaps... connected to an eternal existence?

Any of these possibilities were legendary within the river of spacetime!

"Even a Six Tribulation Realm expert would struggle to discern my age at a glance, and they wouldn't constantly carry a treasure mirror to probe others' ages," Meng Chuan remarked, looking at the mirror. "Yet, the cave mansion's owner specifically left one here."

Meng Chuan was well aware that his cultivation duration had been exceptionally short.

Typically, a Five Tribulation Realm expert might become an Emperor after three hundred years of cultivation, reach the Tribulation Realm after two thousand years, and ascend to the Five Tribulation Realm in over ten thousand years. This is considered relatively fast among Five Tribulation Realm cultivators. Taking thirty thousand years to reach the Five Tribulation Realm would be extremely slow, given that a Four Tribulation Realm expert's lifespan is generally around thirty thousand years.

As for Meng Chuan? He achieved the Five Tribulation Realm in just over a thousand years—a mere tenth of the usual time—while cultivating both soul and body, and mastering two Five Tribulation Realm rules! This was simply defying all norms.

In fact, Meng Chuan's "Cloud Mist Dragon-Snake Movement Technique" had reached the Heaven and Earth Realm in just over a hundred years. If he had focused on that technique as his core, he would have become an Emperor much earlier. This was largely because most of his efforts were directed towards ultimate profound arts.

"My comprehension is indeed a bit higher," Meng Chuan said with a smile, offering no further explanation.

"Whatever your reasons," the man with the human body and snake tail said, looking at Meng Chuan, "to have reached such a level in just over a thousand years means the treasure bestowed by the master can be upgraded to the 'second tier'."

"Second tier?" Meng Chuan knew there were no free lunches. "These so-called second-tier treasures must require me to pay a certain price, right?"

The likelihood of the cave mansion's owner establishing it merely to bestow benefits for free was extremely low.

"My master's name is Cang Xing," said the man with the human body and snake tail. "His home world was a low-tier world. When my master was adventuring in the outer realms, still a Four Tribulation Realm expert, a forbidden creature appeared in the spacetime where his home world resided, devouring it. All living beings within that world were annihilated; not a single one escaped."

"My master cultivated for many years, eventually reaching the Seven Tribulation Realm. Before his great limit, he established numerous cave mansions, depositing all the treasures he had accumulated throughout his life within them, to be inherited by future generations. He had only one demand: to kill forbidden creatures."

"Your talent is exceptional. According to my master's rules, you are qualified to receive a second-tier treasure. The condition is that when you reach the Six Tribulation Realm, you must kill three 'Six Tribulation Realm forbidden creatures,' and when you reach the Seven Tribulation Realm, you must slay one 'Seven Tribulation Realm forbidden creature,'" the man with the human body and snake tail stated. "As long as you agree, you may choose any single second-tier treasure."

Meng Chuan frowned slightly.

At the Six Tribulation Realm, kill three Six Tribulation Realm forbidden creatures? If he failed to kill enough and then attempted to pass the heavenly tribulation to ascend to the Seven Tribulation Realm, it would be a breach of his promise! Karma would immediately bind him, potentially affecting his tribulation passage.

Although forbidden creatures are considered the public enemy of all life, their numbers are extremely scarce! Many Tribulation Realm experts have rarely even seen them, and even fewer deliberately hunt them down.

For instance, if a Six Tribulation Realm forbidden creature appeared in another cosmic river system... would the Tribulation Realm experts of the Goddess River System even care? The distance would be too vast! The experts of that specific cosmic river system would naturally handle it.

"I must kill at the Six Tribulation Realm, and again at the Seven Tribulation Realm," Meng Chuan murmured. "It imposes constraints on both stages."

"If you cultivate to the Seven Tribulation Realm in the future," the man with the human body and snake tail chuckled, "your promise to kill a Seven Tribulation Realm forbidden creature is only considered breached if you die of old age without having done so. By then, karma would have no effect on you."

Meng Chuan merely smiled.

This condition, to 'kill a Seven Tribulation Realm forbidden creature at the Seven Tribulation Realm,' specifically targets those who aspire to reach the Eight Tribulation Realm. Just before attempting the breakthrough to the Eight Tribulation Realm, one must slay a Seven Tribulation Realm forbidden creature to resolve this karmic bond.

"Six Tribulation Realm forbidden creatures, while rare, can still be found," Meng Chuan stated. "But Seven Tribulation Realm forbidden creatures, those are truly legendary."

Meng Chuan had confidence in himself, and naturally, he was unwilling to easily bind himself with such constraints.

"My master's first-tier treasures are few and far between, designated for Seven Tribulation Realm experts and some Six Tribulation Realm experts."

"The second-tier treasures are already incredibly precious," the man with the human body and snake tail said. "You may listen first, then decide whether to agree. Even if you refuse, you will still receive a common treasure, just like the other three Five Tribulation Realm experts, and be allowed to leave the cave mansion."

"Oh?"

Meng Chuan asked, "What kind of treasures can you bestow upon me?"

"What do you desire most?" the man with the human body and snake tail inquired.

"Treasures that would aid my cultivation of the void lineage," Meng Chuan replied. "What can you offer? Tell me."

Meng Chuan also had Patriarch Cang Yuan's treasure as his backing, so without sufficient allure, he would not easily accept a karmic bond.

"Helpful for cultivating the void lineage?" The man with the human body and snake tail mused for a moment, then said, "The most precious void classic in the entire river of spacetime is called 'The Void Codex.' 'The Void Codex' is divided into three volumes. My master can bestow upon you a 'Junior Eternal Token,' which will allow you to visit the headquarters of the Eternal Tower in any cosmic river system and select one volume to read."

"The Void Codex?" Meng Chuan's eyes lit up.

Cultivation classics are intended to instruct future generations.

For example, "The Thunder Realm," which Meng Chuan had studied, was an ultimate art classic left behind by a Six Tribulation Realm expert who had comprehended the complete spatial rules. However, despite having the classic, deciphering it was extremely arduous and difficult.

Many classics were like this. The creator might have comprehended the principles and written down the classic, but subsequent generations found it incomprehensible, like reading an indecipherable tome!

Therefore, 'suitability' was crucial. When Meng Chuan found "The Sword of No-Self, No-Form," it perfectly suited him, and his cultivation yielded excellent results.

"The Void Codex," however, was an ultimate art that suited all Tribulation Realm experts! Legend claimed it was penned by an eternal existence.

Naturally, this was merely a legend; the creator of "The Void Codex" remained a mystery! Yet, its interpretation of the void had caused every Eight Tribulation Realm expert throughout history to marvel in awe after reading it, universally recognizing it as the foremost classic of the void lineage.

"'The Void Codex' is divided into three volumes. To read each volume once, even a Six Tribulation Realm expert within the Eternal Tower must pay a price of three hundred thousand cubic units. Outsiders, without special justification, are simply not qualified to peruse it." The man with the human body and snake tail looked at Meng Chuan. "As long as you agree to my master's request, the Junior Eternal Token will be yours."

"What if I take the Junior Eternal Token, but the Eternal Tower is unwilling to honor it?" Meng Chuan asked.

As far as he knew, each of the three volumes of "The Void Codex" would naturally turn to ashes after a single reading. Only powerful experts who had previously read "The Void Codex" and comprehended the complete spatial Dao could transcribe it onto precious materials. It was rumored that the Eternal Tower still possessed some copies of "The Void Codex," and even if portions turned to ashes, they would be replenished over time.

However, would the value of the Junior Eternal Token have diminished? After all, Senior Cang Xing had passed away a long time ago. Was it possible that "The Void Codex" within the Eternal Tower was now too rare in this era? Would the cost of reading it have drastically increased, rendering the Junior Eternal Token insufficient for exchange?

"If you cannot exchange for a volume of 'The Void Codex' within the Eternal Tower, your promise will naturally be nullified," the man with the human body and snake tail said with a smile. "In that case, the Junior Eternal Token will simply be a gift to you."

Clearly, he had anticipated this. After all, Senior Cang Xing was aware that anything could happen over time; for instance, if the Eternal Tower itself were to be destroyed eons from now, the Junior Eternal Token would naturally become worthless.

Meng Chuan nodded slightly, deep in thought.

His cultivation of "Cloud Mist Dragon-Snake Movement Technique" had become increasingly challenging, and "The Thunder Realm" remained abstruse and difficult to comprehend, yielding only minor progress.

"Very well, I accept," Meng Chuan said calmly, looking at the man with the human body and snake tail.

The path of cultivation was destined to have numerous obstacles. To Meng Chuan, killing forbidden creatures in the future to gain a volume of "The Void Codex" was an exchange well worth making!