Eternal Heavenly Emperor

The person on the ferry, clad in a straw raincoat, appeared quite normal at first glance. But a closer look at his face, his hands, would send a chill rising from the depths of one's heart.

This was a skeleton!

A dead spirit was steering the boat—how terrifying was that?

Even though Chu Hao and his companions had experienced many incredible things, this sight still gave them the feeling of their scalps tingling.

Soon, the ferry approached the shore. Because the Nether River was waveless, the boat was extremely steady.

The Skeleton Ferryman stood silently at the stern, saying nothing, with only the green flames flickering in his eyes, as if coming from the Underworld of Yellow Spring, full of eeriness and ominousness.

"Who are you?" An Alien Race powerhouse spoke up, his gaze sharp as a sword, his presence dominating.

However, the Skeleton Ferryman gave no response, like a dead skeleton, with the mist rising from the river quickly shrouding his figure, leaving only the green fire still dancing.

"Hmph, playing tricks!" the Alien Race powerhouse made a move, reached out his right hand, and turned it into a Star Force Giant Hand reaching for the Skeleton Ferryman.

The Skeleton Ferryman did not react, but the moment the Star Force Giant Hand was about to touch him, he suddenly struck, his pale, ghastly fingers spread wide, turning into something as massive as a mountain, easily shattering the giant hand and then slamming straight down towards that Alien Race powerhouse.

"No!" terrified, the Alien Race powerhouse's hair stood on end. He quickly activated his Bloodline Power; his upper body transformed into a black wild bull. Both sharp horns glowed with an ancient luster, elemental power entwined around them, and Spirit Talismans lit up, the terrifying aura instantly sweeping across the scene.

"Demon Bull Reaches the Sky!" he bellowed, charging the bulldozer horns towards that skeletal hand.

Boom!

A loud noise rang out, the hand smashed down as if swatting a mosquito, overwhelmingly pressing on the ground. The hand retracted quickly, and at a glance, the Alien Race powerhouse had already become a pool of blood and flesh.

Hiss!

Everyone was astonished. That Alien Race powerhouse was a War Emperor, yet he had been casually slapped to death by a skeleton, which was too surreal.

Was this a War Emperor? Or even a War God?

The Murong Family's War Emperor and the remaining two War Emperors of the Alien Race considered themselves lucky. They had also wanted to test the waters just now, but were merely a step too late. They hadn't expected that it had saved their lives, and cold sweat poured out from each of them.

It wasn't easy to achieve success in their journey. They had cultivated with difficulty to the realm of War Emperor, and could cross the world unchallenged. If they were to be confusedly killed by a dead spirit, even in death, they couldn't close their eyes in peace.

After killing the Alien Race powerhouse with a palm strike, the Skeleton Ferryman returned to absolute calmness, standing solemnly at the stern, like a stone statue. It seemed that as long as no one attacked it, it would not attack anyone either.

"Everyone, the ferry has arrived. Do you dare to board?" Chu Hao asked.

"What is there to fear!" In front of Yan Feixue, Gu Fei, of course, wanted to save face and immediately answered with high spirits.

"Let's go!" Duanmu Changtian was even more eager and started to move toward the ferry right away.

"I'll go first!" Gu Fei quickly vied for the lead.

"I'll go first!" Duanmu Changtian was equally uncompromising.

The two of them jostled and struggled all the way to the ferry.

Chu Hao burst forward in a flash, stretched out his hands, and pressed them on the shoulders of each, bringing them to a halt.

"Stop messing around; it could slap all of you to death with one blow!" he muttered, the Skeleton Ferryman's strength was unfathomable, and even with Western Wind revived, he had no chance of victory.

Duanmu Changtian and Gu Fei both felt a chill in their hearts. That skeletal figure had just slapped a War Emperor to death; killing them, mere War Venerates, would be as easy as flipping a hand.

Gritting their teeth, they boarded the ferry one after the other.

The Skeleton Ferryman did not attack but remained as still as a rock.

Chu Hao waved his hand, signaling the four women to come over and board the ferry one by one. Xia Yuanchao wanted to follow right behind the ladies, but Chu Hao picked him up with one hand, stepped onto the ferry first, and then put Xia Yuanchao down.

By the standard of boats, this ferry was quite large; there were wooden steps on both sides where people could sit, but aside from that, the interior was bare with no other items, making it extremely simple.

Seeing that Chu Hao and the eight others had safely boarded, the rest also got on board, not knowing where this Ghost Boat might take them, but they didn't want to miss a potential opportunity.

—If they knew that the secret of Eternal Life was hidden here, they would certainly forge ahead even at the risk of death. The temptation was too great.

Who among all beings could escape death? Yet here lay the grand secret of stepping out of the Heavenly Dao's cycle, no longer constrained by heaven and earth—who wouldn't want to possess that?

The boat was large enough that even with over thirty people standing on it, it didn't seem crowded at all. Moreover, even with so many people onboard, the boat didn't appear to sink even slightly, which made it all the more strange.

For a while, over thirty people didn't speak a word, the oppressive force from the Skeleton Ferryman was truly terrifying, leaving everyone without the desire to speak.

The Skeleton Ferryman made no move, continuing to stand erect without motion.

The crowd was growing impatient. Why hadn't the ferry set off yet?

With their level of discipline, they could close off in seclusion for ten or eight years without an issue, but the problem was that the Skeleton Ferryman was too frightening. Who knew if it would suddenly strike, making everyone feel as if on edge? As time passed, they all broke out into a cold sweat as if they had just fought a battle.

In contrast, Su Wanyue, Gu Qingcheng, and Yun Cai were quite relaxed because if the sky were to fall, Chu Hao would hold it up. If he couldn't hold it up, then their worry would be useless. With a relaxed mindset, they didn't find the wait unbearable.

After at least half an hour, the Skeleton Ferryman finally moved. He inserted a bamboo pole into the riverbed and gently pushed, causing the boat to move, gliding slowly across to the opposite bank of the river.

On the boat, still no one spoke, just the heavy breathing which rose and fell in succession.

Chu Hao swept his gaze over everyone, then retracted it to look at the river surface, curious about the water.

Could there really be a Nether River?

The water had been smooth as a mirror, but as the boat moved, it stirred up a layer of ripples.

Huh?

Chu Hao saw a familiar scene.

His soul was from Earth, where he had been abandoned as a baby and taken in by an orphanage. Now, to his surprise, he saw a young couple leave a baby at the doorstep of the orphanage on a dark night before turning around and walking away.

This baby, this orphanage… Chu Hao immediately remembered, it was where he spent his childhood.

He suddenly realized, could that young couple be his parents?

He became excited at once. Although he had never said it, he really wanted to meet those heartless people who had abandoned him and ask why they had given birth to him if they hadn't wanted him.

In the water's reflection, the young couple was gradually moving farther away. Chu Hao wanted to catch up to them when suddenly a chill swept over his entire body. He came to his senses and saw his right hand had reached into the river.

He was shocked. His Divine Sense had been bewitched without him realizing it. He tried to pull his hand back, but his right hand seemed to have become one with the water, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull it out.

He quickly turned to look and saw that Su Wanyue, Gu Qingcheng, and the others, just like him, had one hand stretched into the river. Their faces bore various expressions, seemingly unaware of their current predicament.

"Wake up!" Chu Hao shouted, not caring whether this would provoke the Skeleton Ferryman's attack.

But Su Wanyue and the others seemed deaf to his words, as if they were actually deaf.

"They can't hear you," Fat Cat said, perched on top of Chu Hao's head. "Hao, you better figure out how to save yourself first!"

Chu Hao frowned but nodded in agreement. If he could free himself, he would be able to pull Su Wanyue and the others back too.

But how to free himself?

He couldn't pull his hand back at all!

"To break the dream within, solve it within the dream," Fat Cat remarked.

Chu Hao murmured to himself, his expression firming up, then he turned to look at the water surface again.

Ripples spread, another scene unfolded.

It was when Chu Hao was young, being bullied by several other kids in the orphanage, his eyes bruised and bleeding. Those scars became indelible, and thinking back to the grievances of his childhood, he wanted to catch up and properly teach those kids a lesson.

As the cold touch came again, he woke up to find his hand had sunk deeper into the river—initially, it had been just one hand, but now it went up to his elbow.

"Fat Cat, if this happens a few more times, I'll be entirely in the river!" Chu Hao said. The Nether River erased all life, and if he went in entirely, he would surely have no chance of survival.

"This is one of your trials, and only you can resolve it," Fat Cat said.

Chu Hao pondered for a moment and nodded in agreement. If he had chosen to let go in the previous two instances, he might have already retreated.

Attachment!

He said in his heart, was this asking him to let go of his attachments?

The dead have passed on, naturally returning dust to dust, earth to earth, what is there to not let go?

He had an epiphany, and looked at the water surface once again.

The water vibrated with a hum, leading him back in time again.

In his previous life, he had not suffered much adversity. After entering school, he became the favored child of the heavens, loved by his teachers and admired by his classmates. After graduating from college, he went on adventures everywhere, leading a life of ease and joy.

Therefore, in the shifting scenes, he became another version of himself, Chu Hao of Sky Martial Star.

He saw this Chu Hao ridiculed and fooled by others for being slow to react, making him angry and eager to teach those who mocked him a lesson. But deep inside, a voice told him to let go, to let everything go.

He was no longer the person he used to be. Who he was now was what mattered most.

The past forever stayed in the past.

He let go of the past but did not forget it. Instead, it would inspire him to work even harder and head towards a more dazzling future.

Letting go meant being willing to part with the past.

To embrace the future, one must let go of the past. To forsake is not to forget but to obtain something even better.

Chu Hao took a deep breath, snapping back to reality, only to see that both his hands were in the river, and his face was a mere inch from the water. The chill from the water hit him, with an ominous feeling lurking.

He moved and found that he could withdraw his hands. He quickly sat back down.

While the water surface undulated with ripples, Chu Hao saw yet another scene unfold. (To be continued. If you like this work, you're welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)