Chapter 564: The True Identity of the Ancient Nameless One

Many cultivators have the ability to reach the very bottom of the continent, but very few ever do so, lacking the awareness or reason to. Lu Yang was no exception; he had never considered continuously using the Shrinking Ground technique to travel to the continent's deepest point and see what lay on the other side. It was only after his third senior sister mentioned it that he decided to act.

The continent's bottom was pitch black, obscuring everything. Lu Yang attempted to use his divine sense to investigate, but Immortal Unyielding stopped him.

"Don't look with your divine sense. This thing is beyond your comprehension; a single glance would be too much for your mind."

Lu Yang obediently stepped back. He would leave matters concerning immortals to them and wouldn't interfere.

"Stay far away. I'm concerned any unforeseen accident might affect you."

Immortal Unyielding was seeing this for the first time. From what the young girl Gan Tian had described, its main characteristic was its impenetrability. However, who knew if it had other effects, such as damage reflection or refraction?

Lu Yang retreated even further.

"Why are you rushing to go so far away?"

Immortal Unyielding called Lu Yang back once more. Lu Yang dutifully returned, and Immortal Unyielding gently tapped his forehead twice, connecting them with her immortal consciousness. This way, no matter how far Lu Yang went, as long as he remained within the range of her immortal consciousness, they could communicate. However, to protect Lu Yang from mental shock, Immortal Unyielding did not share her perspective as she had done previously.

"Alright, you can go now."

Once Lu Yang was in a safe area, Immortal Unyielding spread out her immortal consciousness, analyzing the area inch by inch. Under her powerful consciousness, the continent's underlying structure appeared before her eyes. The more she observed, the deeper her frown became.

"Two barriers have been set here, corresponding to the Tribulation Transcendence stage and Immortals. Cultivators in the Tribulation Transcendence stage cannot break the first barrier, and Immortals cannot break the second."

"Is there no corresponding barrier for Half-Immortals?"

"The main difference between Half-Immortals and those in the Tribulation Transcendence stage lies in mastering the nascent form of a Dao Fruit. You can consider Half-Immortals a transitional stage between the Tribulation Transcendence stage and Immortals. If you master a nascent Dao Fruit in the early Tribulation Transcendence stage, you're a Half-Immortal; if you master it at the peak of the Tribulation Transcendence stage, you're still a Half-Immortal."

"The distinction between these two types of Half-Immortals lies in their differing fundamental strengths."

"Only when a Half-Immortal fully condenses their Dao Fruit and becomes an Immortal will their overall strength experience a qualitative leap."

"So that's how it is."

Although Lu Yang was only at the eighth layer of the Golden Core stage, he had already mastered a vast amount of knowledge that even cultivators in the Tribulation Transcendence stage might not possess.

"What a complex structure. Who created this?"

Immortal Unyielding gently tapped the first barrier. It was breached, and countless runes flashed, converging into a beam of white light. As the light flickered, the barrier restored itself, becoming seamless and perfectly intact, as if it had never been damaged. This entire process took less than half a breath. When Immortal Unyielding used the same method to strike the barrier again, it showed no change whatsoever, not even a tiny crack or flaw.

"This is..."

Immortal Unyielding hesitated.

"Immortal, is something wrong?"

"Two types of Dao Fruits are active in this barrier."

"Two?"

"The Dao Fruit of Time from the Immortal of Ages, and the Dao Fruit of Survival of the Fittest from the Qilin Immortal."

"The Dao Fruit of Time reverses time, restoring damaged barriers to their original state, while the Dao Fruit of Survival of the Fittest prevents identical attacks from breaching the barrier."

"Wait, no, that's not entirely right. The barrier's strength also incorporates the Dao Fruit of Yin and Yang from the Immortal of Nine Heavens. This Dao Fruit imbues the barrier with the concept of 'ultimate hardness.' The first barrier is so hard that cultivators in the Tribulation Transcendence stage cannot break it, and the second is so hard that even the power of Immortals cannot penetrate it."

The essence of a Dao Fruit is to add a rule to the world. If Immortal Unyielding wished, she could add the rule of immortality to the entire world, granting everyone eternal life. The same principle applies to the barrier. The Immortal of Ages, the Qilin Immortal, and the Immortal of Nine Heavens — these three Immortals extended their Dao Fruit rules to the barrier, making it indestructible and the hardest existence, impenetrable even to Immortals.

"Still, that's not right. If these three Dao Fruits were the only ones at play, I should have discerned them instantly, rather than needing repeated trials to deduce them from their effects... Unless there's also the Dao Fruit of Calamity from the Immortal of Calamity."

"Yes, the Dao Fruit of Calamity must also be present. The Immortal of Calamity used his Dao Fruit to cast 'Immeasurable Calamity,' completely disrupting and reassembling the Dao Fruit rules of the Immortal of Ages and the other two."

"What is Immeasurable Calamity?"

"It's rather complicated to explain. You can understand it as the greatest and most chaotic tribulation. Once cast, even the Immortal of Calamity himself cannot undo it."

"Applying Immeasurable Calamity to the barrier is like tying an unbreakable knot; unless you cut the rope, no one can untie it."

"So, this barrier is the work of the Four Ancient Immortals, but even if we summoned them, they couldn't undo it?"

"That's correct."

Lu Yang gasped, drawing a sharp breath. The Four Ancient Immortals had played a truly cruel game. What were they trying to achieve?

"So, the so-called 'Ancient Nameless' refers to the Four Ancient Immortals?"

Since the barrier's composition has been clarified as the work of the Four Ancient Immortals, does that mean the legendary 'Ancient Nameless' who refined stars into a continent were actually the Four Ancient Immortals? Everyone had fallen into a misconception: the Ancient Nameless wasn't a single person, but four.

"It was those four!" Immortal Unyielding nodded affirmatively, her face beaming with a relaxed smile. "I knew my death had nothing to do with them."

Lu Yang hesitated, feeling that Immortal Unyielding was drawing conclusions too quickly. Could this truly rule out the possibility of the Four Ancient Immortals colluding to murder her?

"Naturally, this Immortal has her reasons for drawing conclusions." Immortal Unyielding changed the subject, asking another question: "Do you know how to break this barrier?"

The cage laid down by the Four Ancient Immortals, according to Immortal Unyielding, cannot be opened even by Immortals. This would mean all beings in this world would have to live within this cage for generations.

"How can it be broken?"

"Immeasurable Calamity is the greatest challenge. It's like a chest with ten thousand locks, and you have ten thousand keys, but you don't know which key fits which lock. You must use one key to open one lock, and you cannot fail; a single failed attempt means starting over. It's purely a matter of luck."

"To break Immeasurable Calamity, one must continuously attack with immortal-level combat power. However, because of the Dao Fruit of Survival of the Fittest, immortal-level attacks cannot be repeated."

"Then..." Lu Yang followed Immortal Unyielding's line of thought and realized the solution.

"That's why my existence is crucial. My self-detonation isn't restricted by the Dao Fruit of Survival of the Fittest, as each method of self-detonation is unique."

"To unlock the cage barrier, all five of us Ancient Immortals must act simultaneously. The Immortal of Calamity and I will break Immeasurable Calamity, while the Immortal of Ages, the Qilin Immortal, and the Immortal of Nine Heavens will remove the rule restrictions!"

Lu Yang's mind buzzed. Connecting all the existing evidence, he envisioned the scene from three hundred thousand years ago and understood why Immortal Unyielding was so certain the Four Ancient Immortals were not behind her death. After Immortal Unyielding's death, the Four Ancient Immortals couldn't locate the culprit. At the same time, for reasons unknown, they were unable to revive her. So, they joined forces to cast an earth-shattering technique, refining stars into a continent.

This was a clear message to the culprit: either revive Immortal Unyielding and unlock the cage, or everyone would remain trapped within it, with no one escaping!

*Records of the Grand Historian: Chronicle of Ming*: "Used troops like a god, skilled at employing people, founded a prosperous era, far surpassing the Han and Tang dynasties. Throughout a thousand years, only Zhu Xu could be called a saint."