In the past one month, Shun Long and Liu Mei had finished almost 10 missions from the 'Mercenaries' Association' outside of the Heaven's Dome city.
Most of them proved to be relatively easier missions, but there was one of them that was at the same level of difficulty as Hao Jingguo's den.
During this time, Shun Long had already reached the peak of rank 9 in Heaven grade, and had also finished purifying all of his qi balls, while Liu Mei had also reached the peak of rank 8 in Heaven grade.
Liu Mei also noticed that as her cultivation was increasing, the cultivation of her undead creatures was rising along with her.
Her skeletons were all at the middle or rank 8 in Heaven grade, while the undead knights were at the peak of rank 8.
However, Liu Mei's biggest surprise wasn't the increase in her cultivation or the increase in her battle strength, but her comprehension in the Dao of Death.
She noticed that the more cultivators her undead army killed, her comprehension of the Dao of Death would rise accordingly.
Entering inside the Heaven's Dome city on the black panther's back, Shun Long and Liu Mei noticed, that the atmosphere was completely different.
People had crowded the southern entrance of the city, all of them eagerly staring at the city gates with eyes filled with excitement.
Although Shun Long was curious at what was going on, in the end, he ignored the large crowd, as he and Liu Mei soon appeared outside of the 'Alchemists' Guild'.
After putting on his rank 3 silver grade badge on his chest, Shun Long and Liu Mei then entered inside the majestic building.
As always, the lobby of the 'Alchemists' Guild' was filled with people who were either looking to purchase pills, or hire alchemists to refine some special pills for them.
Since non-alchemists weren't allowed to enter the depths of the guild, Liu Mei waited with the black panther in the guild's lobby, while Shun Long walked deeper inside.
After walking through a large corridor, Shun Long once again saw the 6 black-armored guards who were standing in front of the huge white door that he had passed through the last time.
The 6 Nascent Soul realm guards didn't stop Shun Long, once they saw the 3-starred silver-colored badge on his chest, and retracting their pressure, they opened the 10m(33ft) tall white door behind them, allowing him to enter inside.
The moment that Shun Long entered inside the white door, he could feel half a dozen pairs of eyes that had suddenly focused on him, while the medicinal garden that spanned for more than 10 miles once again appeared in front of his eyes.
''HAHAHA! Little brother Shun, welcome!''
Laughter resounded in the air, as a golden-robed middle-aged man with a square jaw quickly appeared in front of Shun Long.
Shun Long smiled and cupped his hands at the middle-aged man in front of him, as he said
''Senior Kong Yan''
Following Kong Yan, 5 other people in golden robes appeared around Shun Long, when the voice of an elderly man sounded in the air, as he asked
''Wenling, is this the alchemist that you were talking about?''
Looking at the source of the voice, Shun Long saw an old man in golden robes, with a cauldron-shaped badge that had 3 golden stars on it.
This old man who barely had any hair left on his head, stared at Shun Long with his deep brown eyes that had hints of interest and curiosity inside them.
At the same time that Shun Long's gaze met this old man's, Little Black's voice sounded in his head, as the black dragon said cautiously
''Master, this person is strong! Just from the power of his soul sense, I can tell that it's very likely, that he is already at the peak of rank 9 in the Dao King realm, or at least very close to reaching this level.
The elderly woman next to the old man nodded her head, and looking at Shun Long she said with a smile on her face
''Elder brother Zhao, you are right. He is one of the young alchemists that I was talking about.
Little brother Shun, it's been more than a month since you have come to the guild.
Let me introduce you.
This person is one of the two rank 3 gold grade alchemists of our 'Alchemists' Guild', senior Zhao Lan.''
Zhao Lan nodded his head with what seemed to be a gentle smile on his face, as he stared at the young man in front of him.
But just like how Zhao Lan had heard about Shun Long, Jin Wenling and Kong Yan had also told Shun Long about the 2 strongest alchemists of the 'Alchemists' Guild', and one of them was precisely Zhao Lan.
''Little kid, I heard that Wenling looks very favorably upon you. Join us old men for a chat. After all, what we are discussing will certainly affect you as well.''
Shun Long cupped his hands at the old man in front of him, as he followed him to the middle of the herb garden.
Sitting on one of the seats in front of the large wooden table, Shun Long saw Zhao Lan looking at him with a serious look on his face as he said
''Little kid, what you are about to hear today is something that only the major powers of our Night star continent know of. You are only allowed to learn about this because Wenling said that you are a promising alchemist of our guild and that you have hopes of reaching the gold grade.
If it was another rank 3 silver grade alchemist, they wouldn't even have the chance to sit with us, let alone learn what I am about to say.''
Shun Long looked at the old man in front of him, who took a deep breath as he continued
''In the past month, more and more young people from all over the Night star continent have been coming to our Heaven's Dome city, and they are all coming for the same reason!
The Holy sect.''
226
Shun Long had a confused look on his face when he heard the name 'Holy sect', but Zhao Lan seemed as if he had already expected this, as he continued
''It's normal to have never heard about the Holy sect as a native of the Night star continent. That's because the sect isn't located in our continent to begin with.
It is actually one of the first-rate forces in the biggest region of our world, the central region!''
Shun Long was stunned when he saw the passionate look in Zhao Lan's eyes, that was full of yearning as he spoke about the Holy sect and the central region.
These were 2 names that he had never heard of before.
However, Shun Long also noticed that it wasn't just Zhao Lan who had such a look in his eyes. The other gold grade alchemists around him had a similar look when they heard the old man's words.
Seeing that Shun Long didn't have a change in his expression when he heard about the central region, the old woman Jin Wenling smiled, and looking at Zhao Lan she said
''Elder brother Zhao, little brother Shun probably doesn't know anything about the world outside of our Night star continent. However, if he is lucky, then perhaps he can prove to be of help to our guild in the future as well.''
Seeing the old man next to her nod his head, Jin Wenling had that same smile on her face, as she looked at Shun Long and said
''Little brother Shun, right now we are in the Night star continent of the eastern region.
The eastern region covers a gigantic amount of land, while our Night star continent is actually only 1 of the 3 continents in it.
The other 2 are the Martial star continent and the Sun star continent, each of whom are as big as our Night star continent itself.
The 3 continents together make up more than 90 percent of the eastern region's land.''
After taking a deep breath, Jin Wenling continued with a serious look in her eyes
''However, the truth is, that the eastern region is only a single part of our cultivation world in the end.
There is also the southern region that is split into 4 continents, the western region that is split into 2 continents, and the northern region that is split into 5 continents.
The western and the southern regions are said to be as big as our eastern region itself, while the northern region is even larger.
And yet, all of the continents in the different regions, including our Night star continent, simply surround the biggest region that is standing proudly at the center of the world... the central region!
That is the place where the strongest experts of the world gather and settle down, as well as the place that governs all of the continents in the world, including our Night star continent!''
Seeing the serious look on Jin Wenling's face, Shun Long decided to ask her
''Governs the continents?''
Jin Wenling along with everyone else inside the room, including Zhao Lan, nodded their heads, as the elderly woman then spoke with a look that was filled with eagerness and veneration
''Actually, it is said that even if you combined the eastern region, the southern region, the western region and the northern region together, the total land that they cover doesn't even amount to 10 percent of the land that the central region occupies.
This means that the central region by itself is almost 10 times bigger than the rest of the world combined!
As for the strong powers of the central region, they indeed govern the continents around it, including our Night star continent.
Every single continent must have at least one Dao Emperor realm expert governing it and protecting it at the same time.
Otherwise, if there is no Dao Emperor realm expert governing a continent, other continents may start a war over resources or land.
Of course, each of these Dao Emperor realm experts, usually belong to the strong powers of the central region, making the central region the true overlord of the world.
Even our 'Alchemists' Guilds' that have been spread throughout every single continent in the eastern region, were created and governed by the powerful Feng family of the central region.''
After hearing Jin Wenling's words, Shun Long seemed as if he had fallen in a trance, as he tried to sort all of the new knowledge that his mind had absorbed
''Indeed, the stronger a power is, the more things you can learn from them!
There seem to be so many things going on behind the scenes!
Everyone considers the 'Alchemists' Guild' to be a supreme power in the Night star continent and yet, Jin Wenling said that they were created and governed by a single family from the central region.
So the overlord of the world is the central region, where the supreme experts all gather!?''
Shun Long seemed to have gathered his thoughts, and sending his spiritual strength inside the 'Stone of Time', he then asked the black dragon
''Little Black, is the realm above the Dao King, the Dao Emperor realm?''
The black dragon nodded his head when he heard his master's question, as he then sent a telepathic message to Shun Long
''Right master. When someone exceeds the Dao King realm they become Dao Emperors!
According to that old woman's words, the Night star continent should have a Dao Emperor realm governing it, but the qi in this continent isn't pure enough for Dao Emperor realm experts to be born. Aside from master who has the 'Heaven swallowing vine'the highest realm of cultivation that someone should normally be able to reach in this continent, is the peak of rank 9 in the Dao King realm.''
Shun Long felt shock at Little Black's revelation, but he still nodded his head in response.
However, after thinking back to Jin Wenling's previous words, he noticed that they still didn't seem to have covered everything that he needed to know.
She hadn't said anything about the Holy sect that was mentioned earlier, nor anything regarding the help that the 'Alchemists' Guild' wanted from him.
Zhao Lan seemed to have understood what Shun Long was thinking, and with a serious look on his face he said
''You don't need to understand everything that Wenling said. All you need to do is know one thing.
Our 'Alchemists' Guild' will offer you a one in a lifetime chance to enter the Holy sect!''