Chapter 346: The Falling Mountains

Xi Xi looked at Chen Xiao and blinked.
“Is there anything here?”
Xi Xi glanced around, then leaped onto Chen Xiao’s shoulder with ease—without any resistance.
Chen Xiao frowned slightly. He grabbed Xi Xi by the shoulder and, ignoring her struggles, pushed her toward the invisible energy field ahead.
Something strange happened—the energy field didn’t block Xi Xi’s body but stopped Chen Xiao’s hand.
“Could it be because Xi Xi inherited Ming Ye’s Rule Seed?”
Chen Xiao thought for a moment. Then, all the power within him retracted, and the forces of Yin and Yang vanished as if they had never existed. Mysterious energies, seemingly representing the fundamental principles of the universe, emanated from him—those were the laws of life and death he had grasped.
In the next instant, Chen Xiao’s hand passed through unimpeded.
“So that’s how it is. As long as there’s an aura of a rule, one can pass through this energy field.”
Chen Xiao felt relieved. He stepped forward immediately. Xi Xi shook her head in dissatisfaction, but Chen Xiao’s status as the Supreme God had taken root in her heart. Too proud to show disapproval, she could only flap her black and white wings and land on top of Chen Xiao’s head.
Chen Xiao was helpless toward someone like Xi Xi. She had fully mastered the laws of the Supreme God, her strength nearly matching his. Moreover, her race was inherently powerful, and with the Rule Seed given to her by Ming Ye, this little one would become the future Night God—a being who would control the laws of darkness.
Chen Xiao raised his head and examined the lighthouse carefully. Its tower seemed to be made of bronze, with no gaps at all. From where he stood, he couldn’t even see the top of the lighthouse.
At that moment, the celestial map, which Chen Xiao had stored in his mind sea, reacted again. This time, it flew out on its own from his mind sea, emitting a hazy glow that enveloped both Chen Xiao and Xi Xi above him.
Whoosh!
Before Chen Xiao could react, a beam of light shot from the lighthouse and struck the glow emitted by the celestial map. Immediately, Chen Xiao and Xi Xi felt darkness surround them, and they lost consciousness.
……
“Where am I?”
Chen Xiao struggled to get up from the ground. He pressed his slightly dizzy head and looked around.
It was like a primeval forest, surrounded by tall trees. But this primeval forest was nothing like the terrifying forests on the Source Continent, where trees reached tens of thousands of meters in height.
Chen Xiao rubbed his head. Meanwhile, Xi Xi was lying sprawled on the ground, muttering something under her breath.

Chen Xiao shook his head. He stood up, walked over to Xi Xi, grabbed him, and placed him on his shoulder.
“Hm?”
But the next moment, Chen Xiao was stunned.
“The gravity here is terrifying…” Chen Xiao’s heart trembled slightly. He was now a True Spirit God, an existence that could be called a god-king in the universe. Yet here, he felt as though his body was completely bound. The gravity was extremely fierce; if it were an ordinary Void God, they would likely be crushed into meat paste.
Chen Xiao felt that he could barely fly here, let alone tear through space and move at high speed. The void here was incredibly solid—Chen Xiao couldn’t even tear it, not even by a fraction.
“Is this the Heavenly Realm? How powerful must the creatures that grew up in such an environment be? No wonder they were once the strongest rulers of the universe, with both the Divine and Nether realms serving as their vassals.”
Chen Xiao tried to release his divine consciousness, but the restraint on it here was even greater than in the Divine Realm. His divine consciousness could only reach a distance of about ten meters.
“A terrifying place.”
Chen Xiao took a deep breath. The power of Yin and Yang within him began to activate, instantly reducing part of the gravity in this world.
“Shui Miao was right. Here, a True Spirit God is only at an above-average level.”
At that moment, Chen Xiao sensed that his connection to the Main God Space had been almost completely severed, with only a faint link remaining. He could no longer return to the Main God Space.
Now, the Main God Space was nothing more than a storage artifact. In the Heavenly Realm, its power was restricted, showing just how terrifying this world was.
“It’s only in such a world that I can become stronger.”
Chen Xiao looked ahead, where a golden ape with a fierce gaze was staring at him.
The ape was three meters tall, with long, strong arms, and it was snarling and roaring at Chen Xiao.
This seemingly ordinary ape actually possessed the strength of a True Spirit God.
The next moment, the golden ape leaped at Chen Xiao. At the same time, it opened its mouth wide and spat out a strange golden gust of energy directly at him.
“Just a low-level True Spirit God after all.”
Chen Xiao sneered. His Life and Death Dual Killing Sword appeared in his hand. His body flashed slightly, dodging the ape’s energy gust and its body. Then, with a swift swing, he stood atop the ape’s neck.
Clang!
A sharp sound, like metal colliding, echoed as Chen Xiao’s Life and Death Dual Killing Sword was reflected back, sending him stumbling three steps backward.
“What formidable defense!”
Chen Xiao was shocked. This golden ape was only a low-level True Spirit God, yet its defense was absurdly strong.

Chen Xiao’s Life-and-Death Dual-Kill Sword was so powerful that even without using its dual-kill technique, it could slice through iron as if it were mud, capable of tearing even a peak-level True Spirit God in two. Yet unexpectedly, it failed to damage even a hair on the golden-furred ape.

Although Chen Xiao’s sword didn’t break through the ape’s defenses, its immense force still sent the golden-furred ape flying hundreds of meters away. Yet the ape wasn’t injured at all. Realizing that this seemingly weak human was beyond its capabilities, it turned and fled.

“A single one like this is manageable, but if a whole group shows up, that would be troublesome,” Chen Xiao thought. Frowning slightly, he moved in an instant and disappeared from there.

Chen Xiao knew well that apes were social animals. Even dealing with one ape was difficult; a group would pose even greater challenges. Unfamiliar with this heavenly realm and unable to use even the Main God’s Space, he tried his best to avoid any danger.

Sure enough, not long after Chen Xiao left, a group of golden apes, led by a purplish-gold ape, rushed to the area. By then, Chen Xiao had long disappeared.

Seeing that Chen Xiao was nowhere to be found, the apes gave up and returned to their original habitat.

……

“Chen Xiao…” Xi Xi, who had been lying on Chen Xiao’s shoulder, suddenly spoke timidly.

“What is it?” Chen Xiao had already noticed Xi Xi’s odd behavior, assuming it was just due to her being unaccustomed to the place after arriving.

“I think I’ve been here before,” Xi Xi said, shaking her little head and flapping her wings as she flew off Chen Xiao’s shoulder to scout the surroundings. “I’ve been here before.”

After observing for a while, she confirmed, “This place seems to be called the Fallen Mountains.”

“The Fallen Mountains? You’ve been here before…” Chen Xiao was stunned, then a possibility crossed his mind. “Xi Xi, are you from this heavenly realm?” he asked after a brief hesitation.

“I don’t know,” Xi Xi replied, her eyes growing increasingly blurred. “I don’t know where I came from. I only remember being with my sister before. For some reason, my sister took me to a place called Earth. Then, I met that big fish, who, along with other gods, sealed me away.”

Suddenly, pain appeared on Xi Xi’s face. She hugged her little head with her paws and closed her big eyes.

Seeing this, Chen Xiao sighed softly. He reached out, picked her up, and tucked her under his clothes.

“I thought I’d get an extra guide, but turns out this guide has amnesia,” he muttered helplessly. At that moment, the celestial map in his mind had completely gone silent, with no movement at all. Yet, a thought kept flashing on it, guiding him continuously.

Chen Xiao knew that direction was where the so-called Heart of the Heavenly Map lay, and it might also be where his mother was. “My strength is still far too weak. In this Heavenly Realm, there are too many beings who could crush me with a single palm. Before I gain enough strength, recklessly searching for that Heart of the Heavenly Map would be quite risky.” At this moment, Chen Xiao hadn’t lost his sanity. Countless experiences had made his mind extremely steady. He knew that if he went to find his mother right now, not only would he likely fail to see her, but he might also completely become a sacrificial vessel for those celestial beings. He had no idea what would happen after merging with the Heart of the Heavenly Map. “The most important thing now is to improve my strength as quickly as possible.” In an instant, Chen Xiao made up his mind. The Heavenly Realm was vast beyond measure, and he wasn’t as omnipotent as he was in other parts of the universe. He knew that to reach the Heart of the Heavenly Map, he would have to go through countless hardships. “I’ll just take it one step at a time.” Chen Xiao released his mind, filled with fighting spirit. Mingye had said he had grasped the laws of life and death that no one had ever understood before. Once those laws reached their ultimate state, even the fate of the Supreme God or even the universe would be at his whim. Although Chen Xiao currently only possessed a trace of the laws of life and death within his body, with most of it being the laws of life and death themselves—and those laws not even holding dominant position—he first needed to refine those laws within his body to their extreme, then use them to transform the rules. As Chen Xiao walked, the forces of Yin and Yang within him also slowly circulated, constantly refining him. He had no idea how large the Fallen Mountain Range mentioned by Xixi was. Although the trees in this primeval forest didn’t seem very tall to Chen Xiao, the forest’s area was vast and endless. Several times, he thought about flying over it, but when a group of birds with the strength of peak True Spirit Gods passed by overhead, he completely abandoned that idea. “It’s not that I’m too weak; it’s that the monsters here are too powerful.” Chen Xiao shook his head. From the remaining memories of Xixi, he learned that in the Heavenly Realm, beasts with cultivation levels were called monsters. Monsters at the True Spirit God level weren’t even at the top of the food chain. “Those so-called divine beasts in the universe, aside from those at the level of Xuanwu, are nothing but trash here.” Once again, Chen Xiao deeply realized the terror of the Heavenly Realm. “I wonder what kind of being sealed away this terrifying world back then.” Chen Xiao licked his lips. Coming to such a world made him even more excited. In this forest, Chen Xiao moved like the wind. Although the strong gravity here restricted most of his strength, it didn’t greatly hinder his movement.

Gradually, Chen Xiao approached the edge of this forest. The monstrous beasts hidden there became weaker and weaker, yet even these weaker ones possessed the strength of a Void God. But in the universe, such Void God beasts would likely be able to tear apart and devour true gods outright. The environment here meant that the creatures of the Heavenly Realm would be invincible among their peers anywhere else in the universe, and could even defeat enemies beyond their own level. In fact, although this place was on the edge of the Fallen Mountains, it was already considered extremely deep compared to other areas. To this point, Chen Xiao had not found any signs of humans. Looking at Xi Xi, who was sickly in his arms, he couldn’t understand why—if this were Xi Xi’s hometown, the usually lively little one should be more energetic. “I wonder who that sister of his is.” As he thought this, he suddenly felt a slight stir in his heart. Faint voices of conversation could be heard ahead of him. “Damn it, how could the Zhu Ling Grass grow in such a hellish place?” a complaining voice muttered. “Enough, Xiao Si. Only the Fallen Mountains can nurture treasures like the Zhu Ling Grass. Moreover, there aren’t any powerful monsters around the outskirts of these mountains, so the three of us shouldn’t face any danger,” another, very clear voice said. Chen Xiao frowned slightly. He floated gently forward and saw three people gathered on a clearing not far away. Two men and one woman—those who had been talking were a muscular man with an unwilling expression and a handsome young man in a green robe. The third person, though also dressed as a man, was clearly a woman in disguise, as Chen Xiao’s sharp eyes could tell at a glance. What surprised him even more was that he could understand their language—it wasn’t the language deduced by the main divine consciousness through powerful analytical abilities; it was their actual speech, his own familiar native language. “I wonder what the relationship is between the Heavenly Realm and Earth.” After pondering for a while, Chen Xiao concealed all his cultivation energy and stepped out secretly. Since he was unfamiliar with the Heavenly Realm, it would be good to meet a few people. Suddenly seeing someone emerge, the three immediately showed wary expressions and sprang to their feet. The Fallen Mountains were extremely dangerous, but danger also brought opportunities—there were countless precious treasures here, making it a paradise for adventurers. At the same time, there were also those who sought to reap benefits without working, namely bandits. Outside the Fallen Mountains, there were countless bandits who ambushed incoming adventurers to steal their wealth. At this moment, Chen Xiao wore a gray robe that was slightly tattered, looking ordinary—the kind that would blend in with a crowd. Moreover, the power fluctuations from his body were only at the level of a Void God. The three people in front of him—both men—had the strength of Void Gods, while the woman in disguise, though having hidden her cultivation completely, still couldn’t deceive Chen Xiao’s eyes; she was a true god.

As for those two men, they seemed to be the woman’s guards.
“Who are you?”
The man in green stared at Chen Xiao with sharp eyes, ready to launch a fierce attack at the slightest sign of movement from Chen Xiao.
As for the burly man, he now held an axe in his hand, glaring viciously at Chen Xiao. In these Ruin Mountains, trust was non-existent.
“Um, I’m Shang Weiting. I got lost in these Ruin Mountains for three years and only managed to escape today…”
“Nonsense!”
The man in green sneered, “These Ruin Mountains are full of monstrous beasts and countless bandits. How could a first-level Earth martial artist survive here for three years?”
In the Heavenly Realm, the rank system was different from that of the universe. First-level Earth was equivalent to the Void God in the universe, while the Heavenly ranks corresponded to the Primordial Spirit God.
“This fellow doesn’t know much,” Chen Xiao replied calmly after hearing his words. “I was able to survive in these Ruin Mountains for three years entirely thanks to this.”
Chen Xiao reached out and took out a golden hair.