Along the way, following Zhu Tian Ancient Venerable on a formal tour of the Eternal Heaven Realm.
Ye Chen's gaze swept across the vast, boundless expanse of the Eternal Heaven Realm. It was so immense and endless that even someone of his stature found it difficult to see its limits at a glance, which surprised him somewhat. It was probably not much smaller than the Primordial Immortal Realm.
It must be known that the Primordial Immortal Realm was not only the first Ancient Universe of the Chaos Sea but also the largest Great Universe, its volume several times greater than even the Pangu Universe.
This served to illustrate the boundless vastness of this Eternal Heaven Realm.
Seeing Ye Chen looking around, Zhu Tian Ancient Venerable advised in a gentle tone, "It's normal for a Fellow Daoist entering the Eternal Heaven Realm for the first time to be curious. However, do not sweep the area with your divine sense. This place is home to many Heaven-Reaching Giants, including numerous colossi from antiquity who have shaken past and present, Immortal Kings, and even Primordial Giants and Immortal Venerables."
Ye Chen understood. If his divine sense brushed over others, it would be considered a provocative act, which was very undesirable. Encountering someone with a bad temper could easily trigger a world-shaking battle.
However, he was also very curious. Could it be that throughout the ages, everyone who entered the Eternal Unknown Land ultimately ended up like Zhu Tian Ancient Venerable, becoming a member of the Eternal Heaven Realm?
He took the initiative to ask.
Zhu Tian Ancient Venerable's answer surprised Ye Chen.
Indeed, the Eternal Heaven Realm, known in the Chaos Sea as the Eternal Unknown Land, was a place from which all, even Giant-level existences, never returned.
However, it was not that one could not leave the Eternal Heaven Realm, but rather that basically everyone who entered it was unwilling to leave.
Ye Chen was astonished and asked curiously, "Why are they unwilling to leave?"
Generally speaking, after becoming a colossus from antiquity, one had already reached the absolute pinnacle of the Emperor Dao and Immortal Dao, overlooking past, present, and future, wielding the overwhelming authority to dominate a Great Universe.
In this world, apart from the hope of advancing further, there was likely no other path.
Yet, reaching this level of cultivation, taking another step forward was extremely difficult, often impossible to achieve even with a lifetime of effort.
Zhu Tian Ancient Venerable stated plainly, "The hope of Eternity!"
Eternity!
Ye Chen was greatly shocked. Did the Eternal Heaven Realm contain the great secret of achieving Eternity?
But he also looked at Zhu Tian Ancient Venerable with curiosity. This concerned the great secret of Eternity, and he and Zhu Tian Ancient Venerable had just met, their relationship not yet familiar. Why was he being told this proactively?
Zhu Tian Ancient Venerable said, "The Eternal Heaven Realm is suspected to be an Origin Secret Realm that fell from the Origin Land. Throughout the ages, many Supreme Ones, Quasi-Giants, and even colossi from antiquity have rushed into this place one after another. However, because this place causes even Primordial Giants to never return, many powerful beings of the Chaos Sea believe the Eternal Heaven Realm holds great danger."
"But in reality, the Eternal Heaven Realm does not pose much danger. On the contrary, it contains the great secret of Eternity. This great secret is known to all, from those lofty Giants of past and present down to ordinary mortals, because it was all discovered from an ancient stele at the center of the Eternal Heaven Realm."
Long before the Eternal Heaven Realm was called the Eternal Unknown Land by the outside world, it was already a super Heavenly Realm world where the cultivation system had evolved to its peak. It had even seen the successive births of multiple Giants. Its overall power was no less than that of a Chaos Ancient Universe, perhaps even stronger. Even during the early days of the Chaos Sea, the Origin Sacred Clan might not have been able to suppress the Eternal Heaven Realm.
It was just that the Eternal Heaven Realm of that time was located in a special place within the Chaos Sea, adjacent to the eerie Eternal Night Domain, and was overlooked due to its peculiarity.
The Eternal Heaven Realm, with its cultivation system evolved to the ultimate peak, naturally had many unknown great secrets unearthed by various supreme powerhouses throughout the endless ages.
The most famous of these occurred during the middle period of the Chaos Sea, many epochs ago. One day, two Giants engaged in a sudden, massive battle due to personal grievances. Ultimately, at the center of the Eternal Heaven Realm, they pierced through a hidden void world, causing an ancient stele to fall. Remarkably, it was not damaged in the slightest by the residual waves of the two Giants' battle.
It was said that even a colossus from antiquity exerting Ten Thousand Ancient Times mighty power could not damage it one bit.
Later, based on research by numerous Giants, it was unanimously determined to be an ancient stele that existed before the Chaos Sea's creation. Therefore, the inscriptions on the stele were not recorded in any epoch of the Chaos Sea. The aura of time they contained was incomparably ancient, transcending the existing antiquity of the Chaos Sea.
Although the inscriptions on this stele were ancient, they contained special imprints. The various Giants joined forces to decipher and translate the inscriptions.
The general meaning of the inscriptions was: The Eternal Heaven Realm is the world of Eternity. After Eternity was lost, an Eternal Heart remained. Once obtained, one could pursue Eternity.
Once this spread, it directly triggered a frenzy throughout the entire Eternal Heaven Realm, leading to a search by the multitude of Giants.
Eternity was the pursuit of all cultivators throughout the ages. Even overlords of the Chaos Sea like the Primordial Ancestor and the Heavenly Emperor were evolvers on the path to Eternity.
No one could truly remain unmoved.
Unfortunately, throughout the endless ages, even though the Eternal Heaven Realm was turned over countless times, no one ever managed to find the true Eternal Heart.
But the Eternal Heaven Realm was indeed extraordinary, containing a special power. Even Supreme Ones, Quasi-Giants, colossi from antiquity, and others could gain something from it, cultivating and comprehending the mysteries of the supreme Dao faster than anywhere else in the outside world.
Therefore, many believed that the Eternal Heart had not disappeared but might have transformed into a rich Eternal Power, existing within the Eternal Heaven Realm. Cultivating here over the long term might one day allow one to truly comprehend the mystery of the Eternal Heart and prove Eternity!
It must be said, this reasoning was quite sound and won the recognition of many.
And the many powerful beings of the Chaos Sea who never returned throughout the ages were, in reality, merely attracted by the secret of Eternity and the Eternal Power. They stayed in this place to comprehend the Eternal Power of the Eternal Heaven Realm and never left again. That was all.
Zhu Tian Ancient Venerable also claimed that when he entered the Eternal Heaven Realm in the previous epoch, he was only a Supreme One. But after cultivating for an epoch, he had already become a Quasi-Giant. This cultivation speed was enough to drive the myriad Supreme Ones of the Chaos Sea to madness.
Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. That sounded quite consistent with the usual narrative. After all, apart from Eternity, nothing could truly attract these colossi from antiquity and Primordial Giants.
But was that really the case?
Ye Chen naturally did not believe it entirely and reserved his judgment.
Of course, he hadn't forgotten the true purpose of his visit. He said, "Fellow Daoist Zhu Tian, do you know of Donghuang?"
After entering the Eternal Heaven Realm, the Heaven-Reaching Bridge had disappeared, transforming back into a wisp of Immortal Venerable origin that floated within his palm. There was a faint sense of connection, but it wasn't obvious.
Perhaps it was due to the special Eternal Power present within the Eternal Heaven Realm.
Of course, it could also be for other reasons.
Zhu Tian Ancient Venerable was taken aback. "You know the Great Heavenly Venerable Donghuang?"