147: Crossing the river

"How will I know if I can't cross if I don't try?"

The smile on Lin Chen's face didn't fade; he seemed to truly want to force his way across the Ruoshui River.

Profound Limitless looked at Lin Chen's calm eyes, and a startling thought flashed through his mind, "Hiss... Senior is so calm. Could it be... he really is a True Immortal?"

Senior is unfathomable; it wouldn't be surprising regardless of what Realm he is in.

But... if Senior isn't in the True Immortal Realm, then it would be no different from seeking death.

Profound Limitless felt anxious and wanted to advise him further.

Lin Chen waved his hand and smiled, "It's just the Ruoshui River, nothing to worry about. Don't worry, I'll be fine!"

"..."

Profound Limitless was instantly speechless.

Many words were stuck in his throat, and in the end, he could only let out a long sigh.

If anyone else went, they would only be seeking death.

But since Senior was so confident, perhaps he really was a True Immortal. Profound Limitless felt both worried and expectant.

"Little Black!"

Lin Chen suddenly called out.

"...Ah?! Sect, Sect Master... I'm feeling a bit unwell!"

Little Black was terrified. The Sect Master called him—could he be planning to ride him across the river?

It had a naturally keen sense of smell. As soon as it arrived here, it keenly sensed that this Ruoshui River was not something it could handle. If it were to cross, it would definitely sink to the bottom and become a dead dog.

Although it was silly, it wasn't so foolish as to go to its death for nothing.

"You dead dog..."

Looking at Little Black's listless appearance, Lin Chen almost laughed out of anger. He scolded, "You don't need to put on such a pitiful act for me! This Sect Master didn't ask you to come with me. You and Profound Limitless wait here for This Sect Master to return. Don't run off!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I will definitely wait for the Sect Master to return!"

Hearing that it didn't have to go, Little Black's illness was instantly cured—it was practically a medical miracle.

"Senior..."

"No need to say more, I know what I'm doing."

Lin Chen smiled and took a step forward.

"Sigh! I can't stop him! I really can't stop him!"

"Even if Senior is truly a True Immortal and can force his way across the Ruoshui, the core area of the Secret Realm is restricted by the Secret Realm Laws. Only Cultivators with a bone age under three thousand years can enter, and Senior has likely long exceeded three thousand years!"

"Even if he crosses the river, he won't be able to reach the shore!"

Profound Limitless's heart was in his throat as his gaze followed Lin Chen intently.

"Look, another fool!"

"He really has no idea what death is!"

"Does he think he's a True Immortal Realm powerhouse?"

"I'll wait and see how he dies!"

"..."

Seeing Lin Chen walking step by step toward the Ruoshui River, the Cultivators all thought he was insane and sneered incessantly.

Lin Chen ignored their ridicule.

When he arrived above the river's surface, he suddenly felt as if he were in a vacuum; his body felt extremely heavy, with nowhere to find leverage.

*Plop!*

Lin Chen's figure stalled, his protective immortal light shattered, and he fell straight into the Ruoshui River!

The pitch-black river water instantly swallowed him up, leaving only a string of bubbles before he vanished without a trace.

"Senior—!"

"Sect Master—!"

Profound Limitless and Little Black cried out in alarm at the same time.

"The Sect Master is wise and martial; surely he won't just die here?"

Little Black also broke out in a cold sweat.

Although it instinctively felt that the Sect Master possessed countless Divine Abilities, according to Profound Limitless, not a single Cultivator who fell into the Ruoshui River had ever survived.

The Sect Master... he's likely doomed.

"Sect Master! Why wouldn't you listen to advice!"

Little Black began to howl, "Now look what happened. You died here—how am I supposed to explain this when I go back?!"

"Senior..."

Profound Limitless's throat was dry as he murmured, "How could this happen... how could this happen..."

"Hehe, what an idiot!"

"He sought his own death; he can't blame anyone else!"

"The show's over, let's leave!"

"..."

The expected result occurred without any surprise. The Cultivators felt there was nothing left to see and departed one after another.

Before long, only Profound Limitless and Little Black remained.

They were waiting for a miracle.

Until they confirmed Lin Chen's death, they would not leave.

Meanwhile.

At this moment, Lin Chen was surrounded by pitch-black darkness. Although there was an endless amount of river water, it was as if it didn't exist, unable to support his body at all.

His body continued to sink; the Ruoshui River seemed to have no end.

After some time.

*Thump!*

Lin Chen stepped onto solid ground.

"Hmm?"

Lin Chen was slightly stunned; his body stopped sinking.

"Is it just as I suspected?"

Feeling reassured, he lifted his foot and stepped forward.

One step, two steps, three steps, four steps... no obstruction at all.

"If this were the real Ruoshui of the Heavenly Realm, with my level of strength, I would have probably died eight hundred times over by now!"

"But this Ruoshui River before me... is ultimately just an evolution of Fairy Li Meng's own water-attribute Divine Ability. It's not the real Ruoshui of the Heavenly Realm; its power is far inferior!"

"Moreover, the entire Secret Realm relies on Fairy Li Meng's Divine Soul to function. Now that her Divine Soul has become extremely weak, the power of this Ruoshui River has naturally been greatly reduced!"

"Besides, I have the ten thousand calamities untainted robe protecting me. It is impervious to all techniques and imbued with the charm of the Dao."

"This Ruoshui... poses no threat to me at all!"

These were the sources of Lin Chen's confidence in venturing into the Ruoshui River.

At this moment, the ten thousand calamities untainted robe on his body glowed with a faint golden halo, isolating all the river water and Laws, preventing them from causing him any harm.

With a slight thought, the immortal power within his body began to circulate.

He... was actually rising slowly!

Anyone else in the Ruoshui River would be unable to use immortal power, yet Lin Chen was almost entirely unaffected!

If not for the sake of verifying his suspicions, he wouldn't have fallen into the river at all.

A moment later.

*Glub glub... Splash!*

Lin Chen's figure broke through the river's surface and stood abruptly in mid-air.

Treading on the Void Realm, he stood firmly.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his white clothes as white as snow and completely unstained.

"Ah, this, this, this..."

No one had ever fallen into the Ruoshui River and managed to come back out. Profound Limitless was so shocked he was speechless, with only one thought in his mind—

Senior really is a True Immortal Realm powerhouse!

"No, no, no, maybe even more than that. He might be a powerhouse of an even higher Realm!"

"As expected of Senior, he is truly unfathomable!"

"Sect Master!! You're actually not dead!"

Little Black shouted in pleasant surprise, as if it had seen a ghost.

Lin Chen laughed and scolded, "What, do you want This Sect Master to die that badly?"

"...No, no, no, this wang didn't mean it like that!"

Little Black hurriedly explained, incoherent in its fear that Lin Chen might misunderstand.

"Just stay here and wait for me to return."

"Mhm!"

Profound Limitless nodded heavily.

"Since even the Ruoshui River couldn't stop Senior, then that bone age restriction in the core area probably wouldn't be a problem for Senior either."

But he could never have imagined that Lin Chen, at most, was not even three hundred years old... "Don't worry, Sect Master! Until you return, this wang will not leave!"

Little Black was no longer worried, watching as Lin Chen covered tens of thousands of miles in a single step, vanishing into the vast mist as he headed toward the opposite bank of the Secret Realm's Ruoshui.