Chapter 1155: Yellow Spring and Ghost Gate Pass
After the light of the Space Teleportation Array faded, Zhang Ruochen and Huang Yanchen were astonished to find that they had arrived on a white planet.
That's right, a planet composed entirely of white sand and white stones. As far as the eye could see, there was no trace of any other color, as if the entire world had been washed clean.
This planet was much larger than an average planet. Even when Zhang Ruochen fully released his Spiritual Power, he could not detect its boundaries.
The planet's ground structure was also extremely stable, far surpassing that of the Kunlun Realm.
Zhang Ruochen threw a full-power punch to test the hardness of the surface.
With his strength, he could easily split a mountain in the Kunlun Realm, but here, he could not.
The rocks on this planet were as hard as Sacred Jade, terrifyingly so.
"There is Heaven and Earth spiritual energy in the air, and it's quite rich. This is not a barren, lifeless planet," Huang Yanchen said.
Xiao Hei carefully inspected all the Sacred Stones in the teleportation array and said, "There are no other spatial coordinates on this Space Teleportation Array. Have we reached the end?"
"The end?"
Zhang Ruochen rubbed his chin with his fingers, his brows slightly furrowing. He felt something was off.
What kind of figure was Xumi Saint Monk? Even if he was not a god, he was likely no weaker than one. Why would he expend so much effort to set up these few Space Teleportation Arrays?
Could there be some earth-shattering secret on this white planet?
"This planet is exceptionally vast, has Heaven and Earth spiritual energy, yet lacks any life force. It's quite strange. Everyone should be careful," Huang Yanchen said.
Xiao Hei rushed out of the teleportation array, stretched out his two claws, and dug vigorously into the sand and gravel nearby. He unearthed a broken stele buried underground.
The broken stele was extremely heavy, weighing millions of jin, over thirty meters long, and engraved with two characters: "Bai Chang."
The character "Chang" was broken in half.
Zhang Ruochen activated his Heavenly Eye, searched underground, and quickly found the other half of the stele, digging it out.
The two halves of the broken stele were joined together, revealing the complete inscription: "Baichang Star."
Xiao Hei scratched his furry head and shook it, saying, "The name of this planet is Baichang Star? Never heard of it. It's not a life-bearing planet around the Kunlun Realm."
Zhang Ruochen looked up, used his Heavenly Eye to stare at the sun above, and his pupils rapidly contracted, showing a shocked expression. "Look... at the sun above."
Xiao Hei and Huang Yanchen both looked up at the sky and were also startled.
Earlier, they hadn't paid much attention to the sun in the sky, only knowing that its light was blinding and impossible to look at directly.
But when they truly looked at it, they realized something was wrong.
"How can the sun be rectangular... This emperor has truly seen something new."
Xiao Hei's eyes were wide open. Even with his experience, he found it hard to believe.
The sun hanging beyond the sky was indeed rectangular, perfectly regular.
Zhang Ruochen said, "I think it looks like a door."
Xiao Hei's fur stood on end, making him look like a black hedgehog. "Zhang Ruochen, don't joke. The distance from Baichang Star to that square sun is unimaginably vast, at least a hundred million li. If that really is a door, how massive would it have to be? Who could build such a gigantic door?"
Huang Yanchen said, "I also feel it looks like a door."
"A door hanging in the starry sky, as huge as a sun?" Xiao Hei had some doubts but dared not believe it.
This scene exceeded his understanding.
"I want to get closer and take a look."
Zhang Ruochen's expression was serious. He felt this matter was extraordinary and might reveal a shocking secret.
Xiao Hei roared, "Are you crazy? With your cultivation, even if you flew at full speed without stopping, it would take a year or two to get there. If something unexpected happens, you'll die in the starry sky. The dangers in space are too many, not as simple as you think."
Zhang Ruochen said, "It won't take that long. I can activate the teleportation array and teleport there. Even if it's not a fixed teleportation and there's some deviation, I can still reach it in the shortest time."
Xiao Hei thought Zhang Ruochen was taking a huge risk. "What if it's not a door but a real sun? The temperature near a sun would instantly burn you to ashes."
"And even if it is a door, you can teleport there but can't teleport back. Would you spend years flying back to Baichang Star from there? Aren't you afraid of dying on the way?"
What Xiao Hei said was not unreasonable.
The decision Zhang Ruochen had made was indeed full of unpredictable dangers. Teleporting there rashly might lead to a path of no return.
"First, calculate the approximate position of that sun relative to Baichang Star, then decide whether to go or not."
Zhang Ruochen mobilized his Spiritual Power and devoted himself fully to calculation and computation.
Time passed quickly. By the time Zhang Ruochen had calculated the distance to that sun, it had already set below the horizon.
Night fell, and a brilliant starry sky appeared above their heads.
This starry sky was even more eerie. Hundreds of billions of stars gathered into a long river, stretching across the universe, continuous and distant, inspiring infinite imagination.
That river of stars emitted a yellow light, very much like a Yellow Spring flowing through the cosmos.
Zhang Ruochen stared at the starry sky for a long time, then shook his head. "I can't find any familiar stars anymore. We've arrived in a strange star domain, very far from the Kunlun Realm."
"It doesn't seem that far. I can see the light emitted by the Jinyao Ruins Realm."
Huang Yanchen pointed north. At the edge of the starry sky, deep in the universe, a star emitted a faint golden light.
"How can you be sure that star represents the Jinyao Ruins Realm?" Xiao Hei asked.
"Intuition," Huang Yanchen said.
"Tch." Xiao Hei was speechless.
He only believed in truth, never in intuition.
Zhang Ruochen's gaze remained fixed on the Yellow Spring Star River above, countless stars gathered within it, inspiring longing.
"Do you think there might be a brilliant civilization there?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
This time, Xiao Hei remained silent, pondering Zhang Ruochen's words.
If that Yellow Spring Star River really was a civilization, it would likely be far more powerful than the Kunlun Realm and tens of thousands of Ruins Realms combined, inspiring awe.
Huang Yanchen said, "Do you think that Yellow Spring Star River is made of star mist, or is it really a river flowing through the universe? Are those stars just islands floating in the river?"
Xiao Hei rolled his eyes at Huang Yanchen and laughed. "Your imagination is quite vivid."
That night, Zhang Ruochen gazed at the starry sky, feeling for the first time his own insignificance and the vastness of heaven and earth, his mind filled with countless thoughts.
The next morning, while Huang Yanchen was still breathing and meditating, and Xiao Hei was still lying on the ground sleeping, Zhang Ruochen walked alone into the Space Teleportation Array and activated it.
Huang Yanchen and Xiao Hei immediately woke up and tried to stop Zhang Ruochen, but it was too late.
In the array, dazzling light surged out, pushing Huang Yanchen and Xiao Hei backward.
"Wait for me on Baichang Star. I will definitely return," Zhang Ruochen said.
"Whoosh!"
The light in the array faded, and Zhang Ruochen's figure disappeared, leaving Baichang Star.
Zhang Ruochen did not act on a whim to go to that sun. He felt a force guiding him in the void.
Moreover, he truly suspected that the sun might be a door.
In the cold, dark, deep universe, a door of light hung in the void, incredibly massive. Even a star before it was like a grain of sand.
"Whoosh——"
Seventeen thousand li from the door of light, ripples of space appeared.
Zhang Ruochen stepped out from the center of the space ripples, standing in the void, looking ahead. His eyes showed extreme shock, and he felt suffocated.
It really was a door.
"What... is this place?"
After a long while, Zhang Ruochen took a deep breath. A pair of dragon wings grew from his back, and beneath his feet appeared a Green Luan and a Fire Phoenix. He flew toward the door of light at top speed.
The temperature emitted by the door of light was not high; instead, it carried a hint of coolness.
The closer he got, the more shocked Zhang Ruochen became. A suffocating aura emanated from the door, causing all his pores to contract.
A miracle, absolutely a miracle.
Only a god could have such a grand design.
"Go back. This is not a place for you."
When Zhang Ruochen flew within ten thousand li of the door, a wave of Spiritual Power, coming from somewhere, entered his mind.
Zhang Ruochen immediately slowed down and stopped. Though shocked, he remained calm on the surface. "Who is it?"
At the lower right corner of the door of light, a palace was suspended.
The palace was grandly built, but compared to the door of light, it was as insignificant as a grain of sand. Without careful observation, it was hard to notice.
The Spiritual Power just now had come from that palace.
Then, a second wave of Spiritual Power came from the palace. "This old man is just a gatekeeper. Young man, the fact that you can see this place shows you have some skill. But your cultivation is too low; this is not the time for you to come here. Perhaps in the future, when you are strong enough, you might come here again."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What exactly is this place?"
"Ghost Gate Pass."
The Spiritual Power entered Zhang Ruochen's mind.
"What? Ghost Gate Pass?"
Zhang Ruochen's heart surged like a stormy sea, shocked beyond words. The legendary Ghost Gate Pass stood in the starry sky.
"Does crossing Ghost Gate Pass lead to Hell?" Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but ask.
"Ghost Gate Pass has eighteen layers. Only by fighting through each layer can you reach Hell," the voice said.