"Yes, General Fan has examined those people. They are all mortals, without any extraordinary powers," Gongsun Rou replied, detailing the backgrounds of these mortals.
Upon hearing Gongsun Rou's words, Xu Mo let out a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that it was as he suspected. Fan Cheng's mental probe of these individuals had directly confirmed their origin from Earth.
Earth, a giant cruise ship, sailing on the Pacific Ocean, encountered a mist similar to the Endless Sea, lost contact, intruded into the Great Wilderness, encountered sea beasts and monstrous beasts, and was then captured by the defenders, becoming prisoners.
This directly explained the origins of these Earthlings. It also allowed Xu Mo to roughly understand the situation. It wasn't that these people had transmigrated to the Great Wilderness, but rather that the Great Wilderness was originally on Earth. It was just that the mist had obscured it before, preventing the Great Wilderness from revealing itself to the public. Now that the mist had receded, the Great Wilderness was slowly appearing on Earth, falling into the eyes of the world.
However, this outcome was truly difficult for him to accept, and he even felt like complaining! He had already cultivated immortals and established a nation, and now they were telling him he hadn't transmigrated and was still on Earth!? How utterly outrageous!
Xu Mo's heart was unsettled, yet also filled with a touch of excitement. Earth was his homeland, his birthplace. Having been in the Great Wilderness for over a hundred years, it would be a lie to say he didn't miss Earth. He had previously thought he had arrived in another world and could never return, which was why he suppressed his longing. But now, he realized that with a sudden turn of his head, Earth was just on the other side of the Endless Sea, only blocked by the mist.
At this moment, he felt an urge to leave the Great Wilderness, cross the Endless Sea, and return to Earth to see it. He wanted to see what Earth had become after more than a hundred years. What advancements had technology made? Had humanity achieved space travel? Had his homeland been unified, and had the people realized their dream of common prosperity?
But now was not the time. The matter of selecting consorts was not yet concluded. He didn't know what that woman from the Great Jin Dynasty was up to and had to guard against her. Therefore, he couldn't leave at this moment and was unable to visit Earth to see its current state.
Xu Mo suddenly thought of something and looked at Gongsun Rou, asking, "Has the mist barrier on the Endless Sea been identified?"
"It cannot be identified," Gongsun Rou shook her head, her expression somewhat solemn. "After General Fan reported this matter, the high-ranking civil officials in the court have been immersed in the Imperial Palace's Scripture Hall, consulting various historical records and ancient texts. However, they have not found any specific clues about the mist barrier, only fragmented pieces of information."
"What fragmented pieces of information?" Xu Mo asked.
"They are all about 'contending for passage' (争渡), but the details cannot be verified," Gongsun Rou said with a heavy tone.
Hearing the term "contending for passage," Xu Mo's expression changed slightly, and he immediately became solemn. He had heard of this term a hundred years ago, and at that time, he had treated it as a legendary tale. But as his cultivation grew higher and higher, reaching the current Half-Saint realm, he began to feel that "contending for passage" might very well be real!
"Are you saying that the receding mist signifies that the 'contending for passage' is coming?" Xu Mo frowned.
Gongsun Rou shook her head. She didn't understand "contending for passage" very well, only knowing that it involved secrets of the ancient Saints. She said, "Your subject does not know and dares not make rash judgments. However, those old civil officials in the Scripture Hall believe there is a very high possibility that it is 'contending for passage.' This is because such a situation has never occurred in the Endless Sea before, the mist has never receded, and no one has ever discovered the existence of a mist barrier. Even if it had happened, it would have been during the era of Saints, which is a period of historical discontinuity. However, there are too few records in ancient texts about the era when Saints existed, only a few scattered sentences."
The current Great Wilderness has a traceable history of over twenty thousand years. Before that was the era of Saints. However, almost no ancient texts have been passed down about that period, as if they were deliberately cut off. The term "contending for passage" actually originated from the era of Saints.
Xu Mo pondered for a moment and said, "I do know some of the secrets about 'contending for passage.'"
Gongsun Rou's expression was greatly surprised upon hearing this. "Your Majesty, you actually know the secrets of 'contending for passage'? What exactly is 'contending for passage'?" She was extremely curious. No cultivator who learned about "contending for passage" did not become curious, as it involved Saints!
"Contending for passage: mortals use their physical bodies as boats to cross the sea of suffering, and then they can achieve transcendence and become cultivators. Cultivators wield extraordinary power, capable of moving mountains and draining seas, but cultivators also need to contend for passage. Only by truly succeeding in contending for passage can one achieve perfect transcendence!" Xu Mo said slowly. He had learned all of this from an ancient ruin in the southern region of the Great Wilderness. It was also during that time that he first met the Empress of Great Jin, that peerless and powerful woman.
Gongsun Rou was somewhat shocked by Xu Mo's words! She could understand that mortals needed to contend for passage, to step from the ordinary into the extraordinary. But for cultivators who were already extraordinary, they still needed to contend for passage? Why was that? She couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, do cultivators also need to contend for passage? How does one contend for passage, and after contending for passage, does one become a Saint?" Gongsun Rou's curiosity was piqued, and she desperately wanted to know the secrets involved.
Xu Mo thought for a moment and replied, "Cultivators naturally need to contend for passage. The path is endless, and no one dares to claim they have reached the end of the road, not even Saints."
"As for how to contend for passage, I am also unclear. The Great Wilderness has too few records in this regard. Also, after contending for passage, one does not become a Saint; rather, only Saints are qualified to contend for passage!" Xu Mo revealed a part of the secret of "contending for passage," which directly stunned Gongsun Rou, leaving her frozen on the spot!
Contending for passage! Only those at the Saint level were qualified? This was simply unbelievable! What level were Saints? They were almost at the peak of cultivation. Becoming a Saint meant one could look down upon the Great Wilderness, and all beings would have to prostrate themselves at their feet. Furthermore, no one had ever heard of any realm above Saints; everyone believed that Saints were the end of the road, and beyond that was death.
Gongsun Rou found it hard to believe. "This... how is this possible? There are realms above Saints, why have we never heard of them? Are Saints not the end?"
Xu Mo chuckled. "Although Saints are powerful, they ultimately only have a lifespan of ten thousand years. They cannot even achieve longevity equal to heaven and earth, so how can they be the end?" Possessing the Chaos Furnace, Xu Mo could sense that Saints could not be the end; there should be more realms above them.
Gongsun Rou was unable to process this information for a while and fell silent. The great hall was quiet. After a long time, she said, "These secrets are truly earth-shattering. However, based on the current situation, it should not be 'contending for passage,' as the Great Wilderness has not yet produced any Saints."