Not long after, the two arrived in an unfamiliar stretch of void.
"Young Master Ye, this is the Fourth Void now.
In ancient times, there were quite a few paths leading to the Sword Realm, but after the brutal war of invasion by powerful enemies back then, many of those paths were destroyed. The remaining paths, eroded over the long ages, have left some unusable. So in truth, there are very few paths that can still lead to the Sword Realm now.
There is a very ancient long-distance teleportation altar here in the Fourth Void that should be able to reach the Sword Realm. That Teleportation Altar is located within this World Cluster."
Zhou Wanqing said to Ye Yunfei.
"The overall strength of this Fourth Void seems to be a bit higher than the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Voids combined," Ye Yunfei remarked after sensing the energy and laws of the void before him.
"Yes.
According to some seniors of our Wanmu Ancestral Land, back when the Chaotic Void Sea was shattered and split apart,
the fragmentation occurred from the central region outward. The very central location was the First Void, then sequentially the Second, Third, all the way to the Seventh and Eighth Voids.
Back then, the overall power of the Chaotic Void Sea was strongest at its central core, and weakest at its edges. So now, the First Void remains the strongest,
with strength descending from there, making the Eighth Void the weakest of all."
Zhou Wanqing replied immediately after hearing Ye Yunfei's words.
"So that's how it is!"
Ye Yunfei exclaimed in sudden understanding.
Truthfully, Ye Yunfei had long known that among the First through Eighth Voids, their overall strength seemed to descend from strongest to weakest, but only now did he learn the specific reason.
Zhou Wanqing, indeed was worthy of being a descendant of the Wanmu Ancestral Land; she knew about many matters from antiquity, which was also part of the heritage and foundation of those from ancient, major powers.
"This is the place. An ancient Teleportation Altar exists within this World Cluster, and it can lead to the Sword Realm."
Not long after, Zhou Wanqing brought Ye Yunfei into an ordinary world within the Fourth Void.
"One of the paths to the Sword Realm that I know of is also in this World Cluster,"
Ye Yunfei nodded, then sent a voice transmission to Hun Lao.
Not long ago, the ancient Sword Realm powerhouse Ye Yunfei had encountered in Illusory Sword Valley had already told him how to get to the Sword Realm. One of the paths was an ancient Teleportation Altar within this very ordinary World Cluster in the Fourth Void.
Ye Yunfei and Zhou Wanqing entered the World Cluster, then proceeded into a very remote Small World.
The overall strength of this Small World was quite weak, actually comparable to the Tianxuan Continent Ye Yunfei had originally come from.
Both Ye Yunfei and Zhou Wanqing were Deities; entering this Small World placed them as supreme beings towering high above, capable of absolutely controlling everything.
Ye Yunfei and Zhou Wanqing found an ancient Teleportation Altar within this Small World.
This altar was situated within a vast primeval forest. All sorts of demonic beasts and magical beasts roamed this primeval forest. Generally, the living beings of this Small World seldom entered this forest, as it was a world belonging to beasts, with some extremely fearsome demonic and magical beasts occupying the central areas.
Of course, to Ye Yunfei and Zhou Wanqing, the strength of these beasts seemed utterly laughable.
Ye Yunfei and Zhou Wanqing descended before a palace of simple, archaic design.
This palace was concealed by several extremely high-level Formations. The concealment effect of these Formations was incredibly potent; only beings of Ye Yunfei and Zhou Wanqing's level had any chance of perceiving it.
Ye Yunfei and Zhou Wanqing completely ignored the Formations enveloping the palace and walked straight in. There, in the center of the hall, they saw an ancient Teleportation Altar.
"There's no mistake. This Teleportation Altar leads to the Sword Realm. Look, there's a mark here."
Zhou Wanqing's eyes brightened as she spotted a special insignia carved in a corner of the altar before them. She pointed it out to Ye Yunfei.
"Yes, this is the altar,"
Ye Yunfei nodded.
That insignia was a peculiarly shaped small sword, emanating a faint sword intent.
"Young Master Ye, I happen to have some energy crystals imbued with sword dao energy. They should come in handy."
Zhou Wanqing waved a hand, producing a batch of energy crystals. Sharp sword auras swirled around them.
These were energy crystals containing sword energy and sword laws—a relatively rare type of special energy crystal difficult for ordinary people to obtain. Zhou Wanqing was indeed worthy of being a descendant of the Wanmu Ancestral Land, able to produce such special crystals with a mere flick of her hand.
Truth be told, Ye Yunfei also possessed such crystals. Previously, Elder Lu had gifted Ye Yunfei a large batch of various energy crystals in great quantities, some of which were indeed energy crystals imbued with sword energy.
Zhou Wanqing flicked her hand again, and all the sword energy crystals she had produced flew out, landing upon the ancient Teleportation Altar before them.
Boom…
The ancient Teleportation Altar, which had been silent and still, suddenly erupted with a powerful suction force, beginning to absorb the energy crystals Zhou Wanqing had sent over. A rich concentration of teleportation energy then emanated from within the altar.
"Young Master Ye, let's board it!"
Zhou Wanqing said to Ye Yunfei.
Thus, the two of them stepped onto the ancient Teleportation Altar before them.
Not long after, a powerful teleportation energy materialized directly, enveloping Ye Yunfei and Zhou Wanqing. This powerful energy then tore through the space above the altar, carrying Ye Yunfei and Zhou Wanqing away as the teleportation commenced.
"Young Master Ye, to my knowledge, this Teleportation Altar can only transport us to a location near the Sword Realm.
That location exists within a zone of Absolute Vacuum. The Absolute Vacuum is filled with terrifying storms of spatial and temporal energy, and there may also exist many hidden, distorted void traps. If we travel directly through the Absolute Vacuum, we would easily encounter those dreadful spatio-temporal energy storms, or potentially plunge deep into those hidden spatial traps with no means of escape.
Therefore, we need some special flying treasures. I happen to possess one that can fly within the Absolute Vacuum.
So when the teleportation ends later, Young Master Ye, you must stay close to me. After I retrieve the treasure, we will both enter it together, then use my flying treasure to travel into the Sword Realm."
Zhou Wanqing explained to Ye Yunfei.
"Alright,"
Ye Yunfei nodded.
Actually, Ye Yunfei was already well aware of this.
In ancient times, the Sword Realm was a special world attached to the Chaotic Void Sea. Ancient beings who wished to enter the Sword Realm had two methods: the first was to teleport directly into the interior of the Sword Realm via Teleportation Altars; the second was to enter directly through a spatial portal.
Later, after the Chaotic Void Sea was shattered into fragments, the spatial portal connecting the Chaotic Void Sea and the Sword Realm was long since destroyed, leaving only teleportation via altars.
However, because the Sword Realm and the Chaotic Void Sea had separated, the Teleportation Altars laid down in ancient times could no longer accurately deliver one into the interior of the Sword Realm. They could only teleport one to the Absolute Vacuum near the Sword Realm.
The Absolute Vacuum was different from the external void; it was more primitive, or one could say belonged to a higher tier of space. The Absolute Vacuum was filled with massive, violent storms of spatial and temporal energy. Moreover, space within the Absolute Vacuum was riddled with all sorts of bizarre, peculiar, and strange spatial traps.
Some spatial traps were bottomless pits, containing extremely chaotic and disordered spatial laws. Once a living being fell in, they might never emerge again.
Of course, powerful beings with sufficient strength could rely on their own power to resist the spatio-temporal energy storms and spatial traps within the Absolute Vacuum.
Originally, Ye Yunfei had planned to first seek out a flying treasure capable of traveling within the Absolute Vacuum, then use this Teleportation Altar to journey to the Sword Realm.
Ye Yunfei believed that with his formidable physical body quality, coupled with a flying treasure capable of traversing the Absolute Vacuum, he should have no problem successfully reaching the Sword Realm.
Back when Zhou Wanqing requested to accompany Ye Yunfei to the Sword Realm, she had told him she possessed a treasure capable of flying within the Absolute Vacuum. This was one of the reasons Ye Yunfei agreed to let her come along.
Boom…
Ye Yunfei and Zhou Wanqing traveled continuously through a teleportation tunnel. Who knows how much time passed before the teleportation suddenly came to an end.
Ye Yunfei found himself and Zhou Wanqing standing in a space of utter chaos, where direction was indistinguishable.
The time and space in this region were utterly chaotic. All sorts of strange spatial energies and spatial laws, along with seemingly bizarre and peculiar spatial shapes, swirled around them.
Moreover, Ye Yunfei discovered that the time and space here were constantly changing every moment, never stable for an instant.
"Young Master Ye, it seems we have now arrived in the Absolute Vacuum near the Sword Realm. For the remaining journey, we can only rely on a spatial treasure for travel."
Zhou Wanqing said to Ye Yunfei.
As she spoke, she waved her long sleeve. A green flying ship appeared before the two of them. At first, it was only the size of a palm, but in the blink of an eye, it grew into a vessel over ten meters long.
"Let's board it."
Zhou Wanqing's figure flashed as she took the lead entering the flying ship. Ye Yunfei followed her in.
Once inside, Zhou Wanqing took out a large batch of spatial energy crystals and channeled them into the ship. With a booming sound, the vessel shuddered violently, then began speeding through the Absolute Vacuum.
This flying ship was of a very high grade, and its hull surface was inscribed with numerous high-level spatial restrictions and spatial Formations. Although terrifying spatio-temporal energy storms often blocked their path ahead, the ship would give a slight tremor, capable of piercing through the vacuum and skillfully bypassing those storms.
Frequently, spatial traps nearby would erupt with astonishing attractive force, attempting to pull the ship in. But the Formations on the ship would immediately manifest, erupting with powerful formation might to isolate the ship from the pulling force of those spatial traps.
Thus, the ship surged forward through the Absolute Vacuum. Before long, a thick layer of spatial barrier suddenly appeared ahead.
"Young Master Ye, it seems we have reached the outside of the Sword Realm. As long as we find an entrance passage, we can enter the interior of the Sword Realm."
Zhou Wanqing said to Ye Yunfei.