Chapter 913: Not Good, I’ve Become a Substitute
Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“It’s actually fake!” Duan Suizhi muttered to himself.

“Yes, it’s fake!” Chen Fei’s gaze wavered.

Earlier, Chen Fei had a strange feeling but didn’t realize that the figure was a fake.

It was rumored that this sixth-tier Ice Clan Emperor mastered the rules of illusion.

Creating illusions indistinguishable from reality was just a simple feat for him.

For those below the sixth tier, whatever this Ice Clan Emperor wanted them to see was what they would see, even if the real entity here might just be a trivial illusion.

If it weren’t for the fact that this was a lower plane, just one illusion would be enough to annihilate all beings in the Boundless Sea.

A Sixth Stage Emperor Realm couldn’t do much to the lower plane, but as for the beings in the lower plane, if they dared to appear elsewhere, it would be a massacre.

The rule contest between Dao Yuefeng and Yu Zhonggong resembled a battle between spear and shield, with Dao Yuefeng currently holding the upper hand.

“I’ll go find Elder Pan. You continue to search along the previous route,” Chen Fei instructed Duan Suizhi after a moment.

“Okay!” Duan Suizhi nodded, having recovered from his earlier shock.

Chen Fei turned, tearing through space, and left the spot.

As Chen Fei pondered in the spatial rift, he considered the next steps.

The Divine Blessing Dream Entry Technique hadn’t fully penetrated Yan Ming’an’s soul, but the surface-level memories were invaluable to Chen Fei.

Many basic facts about the Return to Nothing Realm were unknown to people from the Boundless Sea, and the people from Sky Sea City wouldn’t actively inform Chen Fei.

Now, however, Chen Fei had learned almost everything he needed from Yan Ming’an.

Dao Yuefeng, the City Lord of Sky Sea City, had a profound understanding of causal pathways, even to the extent of being almost infallible in his calculations.

However, Dao Yuefeng’s focus was primarily on his own cultivation and the safety of Sky Sea City, leaving him little attention for minor matters.

Infallibility in calculations was based on the premise of having things to calculate, not omniscience. Even a Sixth Stage Emperor Realm, despite their strength, couldn’t achieve that.

Thus, pretending to be Yan Ming’an and using the spatial portal to leave the Boundless Sea posed no issue for Chen Fei.

As for the current situation in the Boundless Sea, Chen Fei was powerless to change it.

Chen Fei lacked the ability to take the Boundless Sea’s essence and wouldn’t do so if he could. If he took it, Dao Yuefeng would inevitably trace it and deduce Chen Fei’s involvement from the clues.

Chen Fei had always suspected that his panel might be a manifestation of a powerful being’s Dao fruit.

Logically, it should have the ability to conceal and avoid tracking.

But in reality, it didn’t have this ability.

It was unclear whether Chen Fei’s guess was wrong or if this was designed to avoid being targeted by true powerhouses.

After all, a mere Sun Moon Realm practitioner blocking tracing seemed highly problematic and would be even more dangerous in the long run.

Regardless of the situation, Chen Fei currently couldn’t conceal or block, so he couldn’t afford to be reckless.

Facing the pursuit of a Sixth Stage Emperor Realm, even if he turned into a true deity, it would be difficult to escape death.

Once the essence of the Boundless Sea was extracted, the plane wouldn’t collapse or lose its vitality, but its weakening would accelerate.

Currently, the Boundless Sea barely supported cultivation up to the mid-Sun Moon Realm. After part of its essence was taken, the cultivation limit would drop to the early Sun Moon Realm.

In a few hundred years, it would fall to the peak of the Mountain-Sea Realm.

At that point, the Boundless Sea plane would enter a relatively stable period, potentially lasting thousands or even tens of thousands of years before further decline.

From Yan Ming’an’s memories, the plan of Sky Sea City was to temporarily close the spatial portal after extracting the plane’s essence.

In the future, if someone reached the plane’s cultivation limit, they could trigger the restrictions outside the spatial portal to reopen it and enter Sky Sea City.

In this situation, it wouldn’t hinder talented individuals from the Boundless Sea from continuing their ascent.

Sky Sea City’s strategy was not specifically designed for the Boundless Sea but was a uniform approach applied by the human race of the Return to Nothing Realm to all declining planes.

The essence of a plane was extremely precious. Several Emperors of the human race had relied on it to gradually cultivate to their level, making it one of the most valued materials among humans. It was irreplaceable.

Chen Fei landed on a mountain range, intentionally avoiding finding Pan Qingwu.

He noted that the Indestructible Vision was quite effective, but there was no need to test if Pan Qingwu could detect it.

After standing on the mountain for several hours, Chen Fei withdrew Thousand Geese City from the Profound Heavenly Ring and placed it into Yan Ming’an’s Tianling Pendant.

The Tianling Pendant, initially a spiritual treasure, had its spiritual essence erased by Chen Fei, reducing it nearly to the level of a mere artifact.

Fortunately, its foundation was still substantial, allowing it to stabilize at the edge of the spiritual treasure category.

Packing so many people into a spiritual treasure might be noticed by individuals with special divine abilities, but using a spiritual artifact significantly reduced the likelihood of detection.

With preparations complete, Chen Fei tore through space and arrived at Thousand Rocks Mountain in the southwestern region, where he saw the spatial portal suspended in mid-air.

Emitting Yan Ming’an’s aura, Chen Fei flew forward.

The two early Sun Moon Realm guards stationed outside the spatial portal saw Chen Fei and cupped their hands in greeting.

“I have important matters to attend to and need to return to Sky Sea City,” Chen Fei said, producing a jade token, which was an identity token for Sky Sea City.

Every resident of Sky Sea City had one, and the aura on the token matched Chen Fei’s current aura.

The two guards inspected the token and, finding no issues, stepped aside to allow passage through the spatial portal.

Chen Fei returned their salute, stepped into the spatial portal, and felt no significant danger.

The sensation of spinning and shifting strongly affected him, but given Chen Fei’s current state, it had little negative impact.

Inside the spatial portal, Chen Fei couldn’t help but glance back.

He was about to leave the Boundless Sea, unsure of how long it would be before he returned.

His strength was still insufficient to change many things.

The Sun Moon Realm was impressive and a pillar among all humanity, but it was still not enough. To effect change, one needed to become even stronger.

Within the Tianling Pendant, the people of Thousand Geese City seemed to sense something.

It was difficult to describe the feeling, but recalling Chen Fei’s previous words, it was clear they were about to leave the Boundless Sea for Sky Sea City and the Return to Nothing Realm!

That was a vast world where myriad races vied for supremacy, but humanity could only barely protect itself for now.

Given the opportunity to enter the upper realms like the Return to Nothing Realm, no one in Thousand Geese City would refuse.

Though it might come with great risks, the opportunities were equally immense.

Beyond that, reaching the upper limit of cultivation in the Return to Nothing Realm would be a significant benefit for everyone in Thousand Geese City.

Not everyone in Thousand Geese City was suited for cultivation, but once the cultivation level reached the Aperture Tempering realm, the lifespan would directly extend to two hundred years, which was a nearly irresistible temptation.

In the spatial portal, the concept of time was stretched, and the surroundings were awash in vibrant colors.

In the next moment, Chen Fei’s vision cleared as he found himself standing on a teleportation array.

The vibrant and abundant elemental energy of the heavens and earth enveloped him, making Chen Fei feel more invigorated and spiritually attuned.

Chen Fei instinctively looked around and faintly saw a towering city wall hundreds of miles away.

Even from such a distance, Chen Fei could sense a powerful and imposing aura emanating from the city.

This was Sky Sea City, and this was the Return to Nothing Realm!

Several Sun Moon Realm guards were stationed around the teleportation array. They glanced at the jade token hanging from Chen Fei’s waist.

“You’re back!” a voice suddenly called out from a distance. Nie Shengyun’s figure appeared not far away, accompanied by a somewhat surprised Duan Suizhi.

“In response to Elder Nie, Elder Pan instructed me to return and procure a Source Stone from Wushuang Pavilion,” Chen Fei replied, bowing slightly.

“A Source Stone?” Nie Shengyun frowned slightly, nodded, and stepped into the teleportation array.

Duan Suizhi clapped Chen Fei on the shoulder and followed Nie Shengyun.

Chen Fei’s smile faded as he realized that the danger sensing of the Indestructible Vision was too vague to foresee specific issues.

Chen Fei swiftly moved towards the teleportation hall.

In Sky Sea City, flying was prohibited. Even Sun Moon Realm practitioners couldn’t fly; only those at the Sixth Stage Rule Integration Realm had the privilege to fly within the city.

Sky Sea City had a teleportation hall that connected to other human cities.

According to the original plan, Chen Fei was to use the teleportation hall to leave Sky Sea City and travel to other human cities.

Since Yan Ming’an’s identity was a temporary disguise, using it for a short while was manageable. However, consistently operating under this identity might eventually reveal clues, leading to significant problems.

Therefore, leaving Sky Sea City and moving to another location allowed Chen Fei to start anew, and the people of Thousand Geese City could freely appear in the Return to Nothing Realm.

Encountering Nie Shengyun now further emphasized the need to avoid delay.

Sky Sea City was vast, spanning several thousand miles. The teleportation hall was located at the city’s center.

Without the ability to fly or tear through space, and unable to run recklessly, it took Chen Fei half an hour to reach the teleportation hall.

Just as he was about to approach, Chen Fei’s brow furrowed, and he gradually stopped.

“May I ask why the two of you have followed me?” Chen Fei turned to look behind him.

As soon as Chen Fei spoke, two figures emerged, looking down on him.

“Yan Ming’an, we are from the Sky Resonance Court. You should know why we are here,” Shen Shundong said, surveying Yan Ming’an with a faint smile.

Upon hearing Sky Resonance Court, Chen Fei’s frown deepened. He knew well why the Sky Resonance Court was looking for Yan Ming’an.

It was somewhat unbelievable, but Yan Ming’an was being pressured into marriage by the second miss of the Sky Resonance Court.

Because of this, Yan Ming’an had ended up hiding in the Boundless Sea.

The goal was to leverage the merit of obtaining the Boundless Sea’s plane essence to negotiate with the Sky Resonance Court.

The Sky Resonance Court was one of the major powers in Sky Sea City, with a strong presence of Rule Integration Realm late-stage experts.

Being selected by the second miss of the Sky Resonance Court might seem acceptable, even if it meant becoming an adopted son-in-law. In fact, most Sun Moon Realm practitioners would probably be delighted to accept such a position if they encountered it.

Entering the Sky Resonance Court could mean a significant reduction in the effort required over several decades, or even centuries.

However, if the one pushing for the marriage was the second miss of the Sky Resonance Court, most would go to great lengths to avoid it.

This was because the second miss had previously shown interest in around ten Sun Moon Realm practitioners. After they joined the Sky Resonance Court, they mysteriously died not long after.

Over time, no one dared to accept the second miss’s demands, and everyone avoided her as much as possible.

In the air above the Boundless Sea, Nie Shengyun recalled Yan Ming’an’s appearance, feeling a strange sense of unease but unable to pinpoint the exact issue.

Nie Shengyun sensed Pan Qingwu’s location, tore through space, and appeared before Pan Qingwu moments later.