288: Chapter 288 The Bottom of the Lake, the Sea of ​​Desire

[The moment Chu Sheng leaped into the lake, he thought he would hit the bottom very quickly.]

[The lake water wasn't deep, or at least it didn't look so from the shore.]

[An orange mist pervaded the air, and the lake's surface was only dozens of zhang across; it didn't look like it could hide anything extraordinary at all.]

[But he was wrong.]

[He dove down dozens of zhang, but the lake water was still just lake water—orange, warm, and carrying that breath that made one's soul sway.]

[He dove down several hundred more zhang, and his surroundings began to darken. The orange light turned from bright to dim, like the sky at dusk.]

[The lake water was still just lake water, with no bottom in sight.]

[Chu Sheng stopped his descent, floating in the water, and glanced back up.]

[The light above his head had already dwindled to a tiny speck, like the most distant star in the night sky.]

[His Heavenly Demon Body was cheering, the wendao bell chimed softly in his Dantian, and four zhu xian swords floated by his side, their dark-gold Sword Qi forcing back the surrounding lake water.]

[He continued to dive deeper.]

[One thousand zhang, two thousand zhang, five thousand zhang.]

[The surroundings had gone completely dark—not the pitch-black where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, but a darkness so profound that even Divine Sense could not penetrate it.]

[His Divine Sense was heavily suppressed here; what could originally cover dozens of miles now couldn't even extend a hundred zhang.]

[The lake water seemed to contain some kind of ancient Restriction, specifically designed to suppress Divine Sense.]

[Chu Sheng frowned, but he did not stop.]

[He accelerated his descent, operating his Heavenly Demon Body at full capacity to absorb and refine the surrounding lake water, replenishing his consumed spiritual energy.]

[The lake water here contained rich Spiritual Qi and fragments of the Heavenly Demon Ancestor's Law. With every zhang he descended, his cultivation increased by a sliver.]

[It was very slow, but very steady.]

[Chu Sheng thought to himself: Just how deep is this lake?]

[He didn't know how much time had passed; perhaps it was an hour, perhaps a day.]

[Finally, something different appeared beneath Chu Sheng's feet.]

[It wasn't the lakebed, but light.]

[Chu Sheng picked up his speed and swam toward that light.]

[The light grew brighter and brighter, and the lake water grew thinner, as if he were ascending from the deep sea to the shallows.]

[Then, he burst out of the water.]

[The sight before his eyes made him gasp.]

[It wasn't the bottom of a lake, but an ocean.]

[A real sea, stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see.]

[The waves were churning; there was no wind, yet the waves were high, crests several zhang tall rising one after another.]

[The sky was also black, with no stars, no moon, and no clouds—only endless darkness.]

[Chu Sheng hovered above the sea, the four zhu xian swords floating by his side, their Sword Qi forcing back the waves.]

[He extended his Divine Sense, but it could only cover a range of dozens of zhang; any further, and it became blurry, as if separated by a pane of frosted glass.]

[He tried to fly upward, wanting to see just how vast this sea was.]

[He flew for several miles, but above his head was still the black sky, below his feet was still the black sea, and there was no change at all in his surroundings.]

[He flew another few miles, but there was still nothing.]

[Chu Sheng stopped, hovering in midair, his expression somewhat grave.]

[He thought to himself: This Demon Sea has no end.]

[He tried flying over the sea, but his speed was very slow, several times slower than usual.]

[There seemed to be a Restriction in the air above the sea as well, suppressing his speed and Divine Sense.]

[Chu Sheng gritted his teeth and activated the imperfect Divine Ability, Fuyao Ninety Thousand Miles.]

[His figure transformed into a streak of dark-gold light, hurtling across the sea.]

[His speed was much faster than before, but his Divine Sense still couldn't reach far, so he could only rely on his eyesight to observe his surroundings.]

[The sea was completely desolate, with no islands, no reefs, and no landmarks whatsoever.]

[Chu Sheng flew for a long time, so long that he began to suspect whether he was just spinning in circles.]

[He stopped, closed his eyes, and sensed the surrounding aura.]

[His Heavenly Demon Body was vibrating—not out of fear, but in resonance.]

[This Demon Sea had some sort of connection with his Heavenly Demon Body.]

[Following that resonance, he adjusted his direction and flew toward the west.]

[After flying for who knows how much longer, something different finally appeared ahead.]

[It wasn't an island, but a stone tablet.]

[The stone tablet was very tall, about ten zhang, completely pitch-black, standing erect on the sea like a giant sword plunged into the ocean.]

[Characters were carved on the stone tablet, and Chu Sheng could barely make out a few.]

["Heavenly Demon... Sea... Guixu..."]

[He couldn't understand the full text, but he understood the last word.]

[Guixu.]

[That was the legendary place where all waters converged, the end of heaven and earth.]

[Chu Sheng's heart sank slightly.]

[He thought to himself: Could this Demon Sea be Guixu?]

[He didn't know.]

[But he knew he had to keep moving forward.]

[Bypassing the stone tablet, the path ahead returned to desolation.]

[The sea was still endless, and the sky remained an unchanging darkness.]

[Chu Sheng continued to fly, pushing Fuyao Ninety Thousand Miles to its absolute limit, his speed astonishingly fast.]

[Yet his Divine Sense still couldn't reach far, so he could only rely on his eyesight to observe his surroundings.]

[He flew for a long time, so long that he began to wonder if he was dreaming.]

[Then, he saw a second stone tablet.]

[This one was even taller than the first, about twenty zhang, and had even more characters carved onto it.]

[Chu Sheng stopped and identified them carefully.]

["Written by the Heavenly Demon Ancestor: This sea is named the Sea of Desire, formed from this seat's Path of Desire. Those who enter this sea must use lust as their boat and their true heart as their rudder. Those who lose their way shall sink into eternal damnation."]

[Chu Sheng fell silent for a moment.]

[He thought to himself: lust as the boat, true heart as the rudder.]

[His lust was the Heavenly Demon Body, and his true heart was "Many Children, Many Blessings".]

[He probably wouldn't get lost.]

[He bypassed the stone tablet and continued flying forward.]

[After flying for another long while, a third stone tablet appeared ahead.]

[This one was even taller, about thirty zhang, and the characters carved on it were even more ancient.]

[Chu Sheng flew closer to take a look; only two words were carved on it: Turn Back.]

[Chu Sheng was momentarily stunned.]

[Turn back?]

[He glanced back behind him; the sea was pitch-black, with nothing there.]

[He turned his head back to look ahead; there was still nothing.]

[He was silent for a moment, and then he laughed.]

["Turn back? Turn back to what? I haven't even reached the end yet."]

[He bypassed the stone tablet and continued flying forward.]

[Before he knew it, Chu Sheng felt like he was running out of strength to fly.]

[It wasn't a lack of spiritual energy, but mental exhaustion.]

[This Demon Sea was too vast, vast enough to drive one to despair.]

[He had flown for an unknown number of tens of thousands of miles, yet he still couldn't see the end.]

[He began to suspect if he was just going in circles.]

[He stopped, hovering above the sea, and closed his eyes to carefully sense the resonance of his Heavenly Demon Body.]

[The resonance was still there, pointing clearly to the west.]

[He wasn't going in circles; he had been flying west the entire time.]

[But the Demon Sea was simply too vast, far exceeding his imagination.]

[Chu Sheng opened his eyes, took a deep breath, and exhaled the turbid air.]

[He continued to fly.]

[After flying for a long time more, something different finally appeared ahead.]

[It wasn't a stone tablet, but a palace.]

[The palace was massive, completely pitch-black, standing on the sea like a slumbering behemoth.]

[The palace doors were wide open, with a cold, eerie light seeping from within.]

[Chu Sheng quickened his pace and flew toward the palace.]

[He flew to the front of the palace and stopped.]

[On the lintel, three large characters were carved: Palace of Desire.]

[Chu Sheng stood at the entrance, staring at those three characters, and fell silent for a moment.]

[Then, he took a step and walked inside.]