Wood G.o.d Goumang was dressed in azure robes; his hair and skin were azure in color as well.

Legend had it that his true form was that of a tree.

"Sword Immortal Qin." Goumang nodded with a smile. "I"ve long heard of you. You drained away Daoist Wen and swept through the Skyfiends in the Three Realms. Everything you have done has amazed me. I finally get to meet you today."

"How can the Three Realms not be amazed with your crossing of the fiends in such a manner?" Rushou laughed. "Let"s not stand here. Have a seat inside."

Qin Yun smiled as he entered with Rushou and Goumang.

As Rushou"s cave abode was in the Chaos, it was rather desolate. He only had a few disciples and servants. They all lived inside the cave abode, and stayed there most of the time. Any excursions to the Three Realms required Rushou"s help.

In one of the cave abode"s yards.

Qin Yun, Rushou, and Goumang took their seats and discussed over drinks.

"The feeling of being in the Chaos is different." Qin Yun looked up and out into the endless Chaos outside the cave abode. He even took in the universe and sensed how he was no longer in the Three Realms, but in the vast Chaos. "It"s no wonder that Fellow Daoist Rushou and Fellow Daoist Goumang live in reclusion in the Chaos."

"We were born from the Chaos, so cultivating in the Chaos is the best," said Goumang with a smile. "We do not like the internal strife in the Three Realms, so we reside permanently in the Chaos."

"Cultivating and gaining enlightenment in the Chaos is different indeed." Qin Yun sensed.

"The Three Realms was born out of the Chaos. The rules of how the Chaos evolves are a lot magnificent than the Three Realms" Heavenly Dao," Rushou said. "For instance, your master"s Immortal Vanquis.h.i.+ng Array"s four divine swords and the other Connate Cardinal treasures in the Three Realms, like the Qingping Sword, Lotus Seed of Fate, and others were all born out of the Chaos. As Chaos G.o.dfiends, we were also born out of the Chaos."

"The moment we were born, we grasped a perfected Great Dao," Rushou said wistfully. "Once those Connate Cardinal treasures are born, they contain a complete perfected Great Dao. Even Mighty G.o.d Pangu was born out of the Chaos. Compared to the Three Realms, the Chaos is a lot more magical."

Qin Yun nodded slightly.

"These Great Dao were born out of the Chaos, just mere results of the Chaos"s evolutionary laws," said Rushou. "It"s naturally different cultivating in the Chaos."

"Hmm."

Qin Yun raised his head at the boundless Chaos. "Rules fill every plane. The Tenebrous Fiend Abyss has the Fiendish Heavenly Dao and most parts of the Three Realms have the Three Realms Heavenly Dao. The Chaos also has its rules of evolution.

"To be honest, I once thought about the existence of Itinerant Immortal tribulations in the Three Realms when I became an Itinerant Immortal. Then, will there still be a Heavenly Tribulation outside the Three Realms?" Qin Yun chuckled. "Now, I have learned that there"s nowhere to hide."

"Haha, if you could escape it while inside the Chaos, your master would have long sent you here. Those Chaos G.o.dfiends who once cultivated in the Itinerant Immortal path would have long hidden here," said Goumang with a laugh. "Early on, we Chaos G.o.dfiends had all cultivated in the Chaos. The Three Pure Ones had also figured out the Daoist cultivation Dharmic formulations in the Chaos. Many of the Dharmic formulations of Buddhism and Daoism had their roots in the Chaos. Naturally, the Itinerant Immortal tribulations will befall you in the Chaos as well."

Qin Yun nodded with a smile. "It can"t be avoided."

"Cultivation was never easy to begin with. Every improvement is extremely arduous," Rushou added. "Of course, Sword Immortal Qin, your cultivation has been nothing but fast. You are much faster than us old guys."

"Let"s leave that until I transcend the Itinerant Immortal tribulations," said Qin Yun. "By the way, on our trip to deal with the powerful beings of another universe in the Chaos spatial rift, is there any detailed plan?"

"There"s too little information about the powerful being," Rushou said. "We only know that one pounding from him delivers immense strength. We do not fully believe in such intelligence. Perhaps it"s a way for these powerful beings to fool people from other universes. His true means might even be completely different. I invited you as a contingency."

Qin Yun nodded slightly.

"Regardless, no matter how powerful the being is inside the spatial tides, he is below the Heavenly Dao realm! With Sword Immortal Qin joining us, we will already be undefeatable," said Rushou.

"Fellow Daoist Rushou, I can see your trust in me." Qin Yun chuckled. "All I can say is that I"ll do my best."

"I obviously trust you. You are recognized by all in the Three Realms as having the best protective means among the perfected Great Dao," Rushou said.

Goumang laughed as well. "Haha, Sword Immortal Qin. I"m not afraid of dying when entering since I have an avatar! If my true form dies, my avatar can slowly cultivate to recover. Rushou only has one true body. He will really be risking his life when he enters the Chaos spatial rift. By inviting you, he is handing his life to you."

Qin Yun nodded. "I"m also risking my life on this venture."

Both he and Rushou did not have avatars that could regenerate.

Wood G.o.d Goumang had an avatar, one that was very special. His actual body was a tree! As long as he left some branches or roots elsewhere, they would become his avatars. Even if his main form died in combat, the branches could slowly cultivate over time to become a brand new Wood G.o.d Goumang. This was also the reason why Goumang was willing to enter the Chaos spatial rift.

"The both of us will being risking our lives." Rushou smiled. "Living an abject existence is pointless. Risk is still necessary. There are still many things worth risking our lives for the cultivation path."

"I wouldn"t be the same. If I can have a free and eternal life, I wouldn"t enter that easily." Qin Yun laughed.

"Hahaha… Sword Immortal Qin sure doesn"t mince his words." Rushou roared with laughter.

…

They conversed casually, talking about their target and the plans for various scenarios.

Different situations required different plans.

The three of them discussed for four hours before everything was settled. Only then did they set off together.

"Whoosh."

The three of them rushed through the Chaos, constantly traversing distant s.p.a.ce, and getting further from the Three Realms.

Qin Yun"s sensing of the Three Realms gradually weakened. If he were to lose it, he would be at risk of being lost.

"Up ahead is the Chaos spatial rift," Rushou said.

Qin Yun also saw it.

It was enveloped by a ma.s.sive array formation.

"This array formation was mainly set up by G.o.ddess Nüwa, while the other three Dao Ancestors supported her," Rushou said. "In the nine Chaos spatial rifts we discovered around the Three Realms, each rift had an array formation set up by G.o.ddess Nüwa and the Dao Ancestors. If any visitors from other universes were to enter through these Chaos spatial rifts, they would find themselves trapped in the array formation. Visitors below the Heavenly Dao realm would not be able to resist the ma.s.sive arrays set up by G.o.ddess Nüwa and company."

Qin Yun nodded.

It was indeed ruthless.

Only those below the Heavenly Dao realm could pa.s.s through the Chaos spatial rifts, but the moment they did so, they would end up facing an array jointly set up by a few Heavenly Dao realm existences.

"Let"s enter," Rushou said. Qin Yun and Goumang followed.

The ma.s.sive array formation had an array spirit which knew that Rushou, Qin Yun, and Goumang were friendly. Therefore, they were not stopped.

Whoosh.

After easily pa.s.sing through the array, Qin Yun saw it.

It was a huge spatial rift in the Chaos. Qin Yun, Rushou, and Goumang exchanged looks before flying in.

Qin Yun used his Misty Rain Sword to conjure the Misty Rain domain that enveloped them. Rushou and Goumang also used various domain means to surround them. The three domains did not reject each other, but augmented each other, completely protecting them.

"Boom!"

After flying into the spatial rift, they entered the boundless spatial tides as the spatial tidal waves swept wave after wave.

The trio flew together.

"We can only fly slowly here. Make sure not to tunnel through s.p.a.ce." Rushou smiled. "If you do so, who knows where the spatial tides might carry you to."

"According to the intelligence, we have to go against the tidal waves and fly for more than six decades before reaching the destination," Goumang said.

"Let"s fly slowly." Qin Yun smiled.

The trio flew patiently. Their realms were extraordinary, and they were not swept away by the spatial tides around them. If someone weaker was here, they would be easily swept away by the spatial tides.

After a few days of flight.

"Look, there"s a spatial rift over there as well." Rushou pointed a distance away.

Qin Yun cast his gaze and saw a huge spatial rift a distance away. There was purple light exuding from the rift"s internals.

"That rift might link to another universe similar to the Three Realms." Rushou chuckled. "But no one knows what it"s like without entering."

"If you enter, you might end up swept into a trap prepared by Heavenly Dao realm existences of another universe," Qin Yun said.

"Therefore, one has to be careful. Only by being careful can one live long." Goumang chuckled.

They continued proceeding forward.

The spatial tides were endless. Like three fishes, they swam upstream and, after spending 68 years doing so, they finally arrived at their destination.