Chapter 122: Entering the Eastern Wasteland

Upon hearing this, Chen Mu fell silent. He seemed to recall Chen Haoran mentioning it before, but it had slipped his mind.

Kou Li and the other man were initially confused, but then they suddenly looked at Chen Mu in shock. Chen Mu was not Chen Haoran’s biological son? Wait, was he saying that Chen Mu was not born in the Great Xia, but was brought back from the Eastern Wasteland by Chen Haoran?

This revelation stunned everyone present. No wonder Chen Mu was so extraordinary; no wonder he was so terrifyingly strong while still at the peak of the Yuan Foundation Realm; no wonder he wanted to go to the Eastern Wasteland to find that so-called secret realm. It turned out Chen Mu did not belong to any of these three empires—perhaps he did not even belong to this continent at all.

Though this was what everyone surmised, and they were mostly correct, it was not the priority. What they cared about was the secret realm.

Chen Haoran narrated his experience of fleeing into the Eastern Wasteland and encountering Chen Mu’s biological father. His descriptions—being pursued, charging blindly into the depths, and the extreme desolation and lack of elemental energy within—matched exactly what they already knew.

Then, one detail caught their attention: after Chen Haoran entered the Eastern Wasteland, he began to hear faint, whispering voices that grew louder the deeper he went.

He also experienced hallucinations; it felt as if every direction he walked was actually moving forward. He had lost all sense of direction, but because he was evading his pursuers, he had no intention of turning back. He simply pushed forward, believing that things would work out in the end. In his frantic state, he stumbled into the mysterious Path of Immortals and Mortals.

Naturally, his pursuers followed him into the path. It was during this chase that Chen Haoran met Chen Mu’s biological father, Chen Yuanzhou.

Chen Haoran described this encounter with great excitement and awe, especially the moment those enemies were abruptly annihilated and turned to dust in front of Chen Yuanzhou. He speculated that Chen Yuanzhou’s power far exceeded the limits of the current Yuan Yao Continent. As he spoke, everyone except Chen Mu gulped, their eyes filled with horror and dread as they looked at the young man.

One could only imagine that Chen Mu’s background was terrifyingly mysterious. But the most frightening part was: where exactly did the Path of Immortals and Mortals lead? Was that place not far too terrifying?

If Chen Mu’s biological father possessed strength and cultivation that defied their common sense, and such a formidable being had to entrust his child to this backwater land, it stood to reason that he must have been driven to a dead end by an even greater threat or power. If that were true, it was chilling; it meant the place Chen Mu came from must be teeming with powerhouses and monsters.

Chen Haoran continued with his speculations: Chen Yuanzhou likely came from another continent, and the Path of Immortals and Mortals was probably a ruin left by ancient ancestors, capable of connecting to other continents, perhaps even housing the teleportation arrays mentioned in ancient texts.

Initially, upon hearing that a being as terrifying as Chen Yuanzhou had appeared in the Path of Immortals and Mortals, everyone assumed the place was filled with such powerhouses, and they began to lose their nerve about exploring the Eastern Wasteland. However, after hearing the rest of the description—that the path was long deserted and Chen Yuanzhou was merely a transient visitor—Kou Li and Guoldos felt relieved. Since the secret realm was an ancient ruin, it would surely contain many treasures left behind by the ancients. If they could bring those back, they would be rich.

Despite their daydreams about treasures, Kou Li asked the most critical question: "Fellow Daoist, you mentioned earlier that you were sent out by that supreme being. Do you know how he did it? What exactly did he do?"

Chen Haoran gave a bitter smile and pondered. "After he entrusted Mu'er to me, I inexplicably found myself outside the Eastern Wasteland. If there was anything unusual, it was that for a brief moment, my five senses were completely shut off, and they only returned once I was out."

The group fell silent. Five senses shut off? Indeed, previous intelligence suggested the Eastern Wasteland possessed a power that caused people to lose their way. Could shutting off the five senses be the key to emerging? But even with them shut off, moving, let alone escaping, would be incredibly difficult.

Although they had learned this, it only made them fear the Eastern Wasteland more. This information did not solve the problem of how to avoid getting lost.

Kou Li sighed. "It seems we must use our original plan: enter the Eastern Wasteland, leave markers, and follow them back out. The markers shouldn't be too far apart; we must be able to see three of them at any given time. What do you think? I believe if we follow these markers, we will surely be able to return."

Everyone nodded; it was indeed the best plan. If this failed, then being trapped forever in a secret realm they couldn't escape would be too high a price to pay.

After finalizing the plan, Chen Mu returned Chen Haoran to the Sleeping Immortal Residence. This time, they began to test Kou Li’s method to see if it was possible to emerge from the Eastern Wasteland.

Two teams were dispatched into the wasteland, continuously leaving markers along the way. The day was agonizingly long, and those waiting outside were filled with anxiety. They didn't know if this would work, and if it failed, they would truly never dare to enter again.

As night fell, seeing no movement from the wasteland, everyone could not help but feel disappointed. But just as they were losing heart, over a dozen figures slowly emerged from the wasteland, their silhouettes flickering and uncertain, appearing as if out of thin air in the distance.

Seeing them, everyone jolted. It worked? They had actually succeeded using the simplest method? Everyone erupted into cheers.

The dozen or so people walked slowly out of the wasteland, their eyes filled with an indescribable exhaustion. They were mentally drained to the point of collapse, and they looked around with a twitchy, nervous energy.

Kou Li immediately stepped forward to ask, "What happened? You’ve made it out! Why the expressions? What did you encounter inside?"

The man questioned by Kou Li finally snapped back to reality. "Out? We’re out? There were voices in there... voices all around us... I couldn’t understand what they were saying... it wasn’t human language... it was... it was too terrifying..."

The crowd fell silent again. It seemed this was the whispering they had heard about. The Eastern Wasteland was too mysterious, and no one knew where these whispers came from. But since they now knew there was a way to return, they had to make the journey to the Path of Immortals and Mortals.

After sending the exhausted teams to the camp to rest, they decided to lead the main force into the Eastern Wasteland the following day to search for the path.

The next day, after everyone was prepared, Chen Mu was escorted into the center of the formation as Kou Li and Guoldos’s troops led the way.

Upon entering the Eastern Wasteland, they immediately felt the rapid depletion of elemental energy. By now, the amount of energy in the air was so thin it was practically negligible. Fortunately, they had brought abundant supplies, allowing them to replenish their energy in time and avoid the inability to cast spells.

The group remained anxious and uneasy. The legend of the Eastern Wasteland being a place of no return was burned into the minds of every citizen of the Yellow Sand Empire, so even with thorough preparation, they felt insecure. Yet, recalling the people who returned yesterday, they felt slightly more at ease. Still, the soldiers and disciples felt a chill at the thought of the eerie whispering.

As they journeyed, they continuously placed markers. The deeper they went, the more oppressive and uncomfortable the environment became. By now, there was no elemental energy left in the world, and they had begun to consume the energy stored in their own dantian.

Everyone was extremely frugal, doing their best to seal their energy and prevent it from leaking. However, because most of the lower-level soldiers and disciples couldn't achieve perfection, some energy inevitably leaked and dissipated into the air.

The Eastern Wasteland was a desolate expanse, with the scenery appearing identical in every direction. This psychological pressure gradually made them irritable, and finally, the rumored demonic whispers began to ring in everyone’s ears.

Everyone grew tense. They could not understand what the words meant, but whether they wanted to hear them or not—even if they used energy to isolate their hearing or covered their ears—the whispers persisted. It was as if someone were standing right next to them, whispering directly into their ears.

The sounds swirled around them—from the front, back, sides, and even from the sky and the ground. Most eerily, when they blocked their ears, the sound echoed directly within their minds.

Although they knew this would happen and did not descend into chaos, the pressure and fear in their hearts spiked. Fortunately, with Kou Li and the other leader maintaining order, no major incidents occurred.

Two days later, everyone was physically and mentally exhausted, their spirits constantly stretched to the breaking point. Their energy consumption was immense, and although they had brought enough supplies, they could only last about ten more days.

Chen Mu was also feeling restless. However, having weathered many storms, his composure now exceeded that of his peers, so he kept a calm expression despite the oppressive environment.

Yet, those demonic, incessant whispers were giving even Chen Mu a headache. These voices were saturated with resentment, hatred, anger, and various other negative emotions. Though he could not understand them, he could feel that the words were directly affecting everyone’s consciousness.

Throughout the journey, Chen Mu remained silent. He was deeply curious about the whispers. Who was making these sounds? What kind of language was this? It was certainly a real language; though he couldn't understand it, he had heard a few recurring phrases.