Chapter 1366: Hard time Staying on the Safe Path...
Continuing to move along the safe passage, it didn't take long before Chu Yang managed to encounter another group of demon beasts that had decided to lay down directly on the path itself. Blocking it and preventing him from continuing forward without first fighting them off.
Normally, this was what he had done so far when encountering demon beasts blocking his path. However, the group of demon beasts blocking his path this time around were all in the Domain Lord Realm, with one of them even having reached the Later Stages of the Domain Lord Realm.
Even if he was confident in his strength, he was clear that the group of demon beasts currently blocking his path were far too strong for him to face on his own.
So, with that in mind, he was left with only being able to try and go around them before continuing along the safe passage. Hoping that he wouldn't end up encountering another Soul Ascension Realm demon beast as he made his way around this group of demon beasts. Understanding that his current strength was far from enough to face off against a Soul Ascension Realm demon beast.
Rustle~
Like this, Chu Yang found himself rapidly moving through a few bushes as he moved around the group of demon beasts relaxing on the path. Doing his best to try and remain hidden without being discovered by any of the demon beasts in the process.
Roar?
Unfortunately, he wasn't able to fully hide himself while sneaking around the group of demon beasts, as one of the stronger ones among them ended up noticing him, as it turned its head to look almost directly at him with a somewhat confused expression on its face.
Wait! It shouldn't have discovered me yet, but just heard the sound of the bushes moving! As long as it doesn't use its divine sense, I should still be fine…!
Realizing that the demon beast hadn't actually ended up discovering him upon seeing the somewhat confused expression, Chu Yang held his breath as he prayed for it to not use its divine sense to investigate the situation.
Roar~
Luckily, one of the younger and weaker demon beasts jumped up in front of the confused demon beast. Drawing its attention away, as Chu Yang took the opportunity to continue making his way around the group of demon beasts before they had a chance to notice him. Just barely avoiding detection as he found himself back on the safe passage once again. Having successfully managed to avoid encountering the group of demon beasts.
Rooar~!
"…"
However, his happiness of being back on the safe passage didn't last for long, as he soon came face to face with another group of demon beasts blocking his path.
Even worse, this group of demon beasts was stronger than the last one. Making it far more challenging to move around them compared to the last group.
Boom!
Unexpectedly, as he was about to start veering off the path to move around the group of demon beasts, an explosion sounded out in the distance before a powerful shockwave hit the group of demon beasts. Sending some of the weaker demon beasts blocking the path flying in his direction.
ROOOOAR-!
In response, the strongest demon beast let out a powerful roar before getting up and charging in the direction of the explosion filled with killing intent towards the one behind the explosion that had injured the weaker demon beasts.
Not long after the strongest demon beast in the group made a move, the rest soon followed in charging towards the location of the explosion together with their leader, while the weaker ones retreated towards a nearby cave for safety.
In turn also clearing the path in the process, giving Chu Yang the opportunity to continue along the path without having to worry about veering off the path trying to avoid the group of demon beasts.
Of course, he understood that this entire thing wouldn't be that easy, as the explosion just now and the direction that the group of demon beasts had moved in was just further along the path… And from the sounds of battle, he could hear erupting a short distance away from him, he guessed that the path was likely still being blocked by the battle that should have broken out between the demon beasts and the one behind the explosion…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Indeed, as he moved past the place that had been blocked by the demon beasts not too long ago, Chu Yang ended up staring directly at a large-scale battle between different demon beasts from the mountain range and a large group of humans who seemed to be desperately fighting off the demon beasts that seemed to be swarming towards.
Among those fighting, the one who seemed to catch his attention almost immediately was someone in the Soul Ascension Realm locked in battle with a massive black bird demon beast in the Soul Ascension Realm.
Wait… Those people look familiar- Ah! It's those people from the Mountain Demon City! To think I would encounter them now of all times…
Suddenly recognizing one of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators who seemed busy fighting with some of the weaker demon beasts charging over filled with killing intent, Chu Yang realized that the group of humans busy fighting off the large number of demon beasts was none other than the group of cultivators from the Mountain Demon City he had seen heading into the mountain range to explore some kind of ancient ruin.
From the looks of things, it didn't go as planned. Making him feel grateful for the fact that he didn't end up being forced to join them.
Even the Soul Ascension Realm cultivator who was more than strong enough to wander into the mountain range on his own was caught up in a difficult situation faced with the black bird demon beast in the Soul Ascension Realm.
Looks like I will either have to wait for the battle to finish or find a way to sneak around without being discovered if I want to get to the other side of the mountain range…
Narrowing both of his eyes as he thought this to himself, Chu Yang glanced in the direction of the safe passage that had essentially turned into the center of the battle between the humans and demon beasts.
If he wanted to continue going through the mountain range, it looked like it was going to be rather dangerous.
Instead of that, Chu Yang felt like it would be better to find somewhere to hide and see how the battle progressed.
If there was no sign of the battle ending any time soon, he would have to find a way around them, as the safe passage wouldn't be safe indefinitely, something he had started to realize, as it became increasingly dangerous the longer, he spent inside the mountain range.
In the end, he decided to settle down a short distance away from the battle where he could avoid being detected by the demon beasts continuously rushing over to join the battle, while at the same time keeping an eye on the battle and seeing how it progressed.
"Everyone! We have to head back into the ruins, or we will be overrun by these demon beasts! Follow me!"
Just as he was settled in and began observing the battle wanting to try and see what he could learn from observing the Soul Ascension Realm cultivator clashing with the Soul Ascension Realm demon beast, Chu Yang was shocked to suddenly hear one of the Domain Lord Realm humans yelling out before all of them began escaping.
This wasn't really a problem as it would clear up the path for him, the main problem was that the direction they were escaping in happened to the small hiding spot where he was hiding at the moment… And considering the fact that this group of people didn't seem to be the friendliest from his short experience with them inside the Mountain Demon City, Chu Yang didn't think that the Soul Ascension Realm cultivator would spare a random Domain Lord Realm cultivator who popped out of nowhere.
Whoosh-!
So, with that in mind, Chu Yang wasted no time before turning around and escaping into the small cave that was his temporary hiding spot. Not daring to continue waiting around to see if the group of human cultivators were heading towards the cave he was inside, as he continued deeper inside without a second thought.
"Over here!"
Only when hearing the sound of yelling coming from behind him as he continued moving deeper inside, did Chu Yang realize that the cave he had just entered was likely related to the ruins that this group of people had gone to the Mountain Range to search for.
However, there was nothing he could do about the potential danger of the place, as he continued moving further inside the cave without a second thought before suddenly finding himself in a massive open space located below the mountain range itself.
Chapter 1367: A Secret Realm?
The large open space was not completely empty, as there was a large structure barely visible in the distance and without even knowing what that structure was, Chu Yang guessed that it should be the ruins that the group of people from the Demon Mountain City had been referring to.
So, with that in mind, Chu Yang began making his way forward towards the ruins, as it was the only place he could hide before the people from the Mountain Demon City arrived inside the massive underground space.
Of course, given that the ruins were dangerous even to someone in the Soul Ascension Realm, Chu Yang didn't intend on entering the ruins and potentially expose himself to danger far greater than what he would face by confronting the group of people from the Demon Mountain City and the large number of demon beasts. Instead, he planned to just find somewhere around the edges of the ruins to hide himself while waiting for the people from the Mountain Demon City to either leave or make their way into the ruins.
After they disappeared inside the ruins, he could then start looking around the underground space and try to find another way out of the place without ending up in front of a large group of demon beasts.
Given that his strength had reached the Domain Lord Realm, he didn't think it would be too difficult for him to try and dig his way out of the underground space in case he couldn't find another way out.
The only problem with using his domain to dig his way out being that it would take time and would make him rather easy to spot for anyone inside the underground space. Especially if that Soul Ascension Realm cultivator was around.
For this reason alone, he didn't try and dig his way out to start off with as the people from the Demon Mountain City was just behind him. Instead opting for what he deemed to be the safer option of hiding around the edges of the ruins until the group of people from the Demon Mountain City left along with the demon beasts chasing after them.
"Hm? This ruin is actually a gate to a secret realm?!"
Arriving in front of the ruins that he had only heard the group of people from the Demon Mountain City talk about so far, Chu Yang could not help showing a somewhat surprised expression on his face when he realized that the ruins he had been intending to hide inside of was actually just a gateway to a secret realm.
Though… It did make a bit more sense why even a Soul Ascension Realm cultivator found the place dangerous, as those capable of constructing a secret realm was normally at least at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm and had the support of resources that even a normal Soul Ascension Realm cultivator would have a hard time getting their hands on.
Of course, this was only the lowest requirement for constructing a secret realm. In most cases, the ones who had the time and resources to construct a secret realm would normally be in the Soul Ascension Realm.
Not to mention, this secret realm was located inside a mountain range that had no lack of Soul Ascension Realm demon beasts.
For someone to create a secret realm in such a location, they had to have the strength to suppress the surrounding demon beasts while creating the secret realm. Meaning that the person who constructed the secret realm had most likely surpassed the Soul Ascension Realm. Reaching the Dao Seed Realm or beyond. Making it understandable why the secret realm would be considered dangerous even for someone in the Soul Ascension Realm.
But… This was not the problem that Chu Yang was thinking about at the moment. Instead, it was the fact that he had nowhere to hide inside these ruins that were nothing more than a few structures centered around the gateway to the secret realm. Hiding inside these small ruins or behind the gateway into the secret realm would likely not be enough to avoid detection by any of the Domain Lord Realm cultivators, let alone the Soul Ascension Realm cultivator.
If he wanted to avoid detection, his only option would be to enter the secret realm.
Even though this did contain a certain risk considering that the place was dangerous even to someone in the Soul Ascension Realm, Chu Yang felt that the risk of encountering any dangers just after stepping into the secret realm should be low considering that the group of humans from the Demon Mountain City were currently heading towards the secret realm to hide from the demon beasts that were swarming them.
Whoosh~!
And so, with that in mind, Chu Yang didn't hesitate any longer and stepped through the gateway into the secret realm. Soon enough finding himself on top of a massive stone platform suspended above a large jungle by three massive chains connected to three even larger mountains.
However, the thing that almost immediately caught his eye was not the mountains holding up the stone platform that the gateway was located on, but instead the towering turtle demon beast right below the platform.
Even though it wasn't doing anything and seemed to be deep in sleep, it was clear from a glance that the strength of this demon beast was not to be underestimated, as Chu Yang clearly sensed a power not much different from what he had sensed during one of his encounters with Pei Yang. Meaning that the sleep turtle demon beast below the stone platform was most likely a demon beast in the Dao Seed Relam.
At the very least, it didn't seem to wake up even after he arrived and showed no signs of doing so any time soon.
Considering that the group of humans from the Demon Mountain City should have already explored the secret realm, Chu Yang guessed that this powerful demon beast should be harmless.
If not, he felt that there would have been no way for them to try and escape back into the secret realm.
After all, no matter how many demon beasts came rushing towards them outside the secret realm, their strength was mostly between the Nascent Soul and Domain Lord Realm, with the strongest demon beast being in the Soul Ascension Realm.
Nowhere near comparable to a Dao Seed Realm demon beast that would have more than enough strength to easily kill off all of them without any effort.
Swish-!
Feeling like the turtle demon beast should be safe, Chu Yang didn't linger around the stone platform with the gateway on top of it for too long, as he soon jumped onto one of the nearby chains holding up the stone platform before rushing towards the mountain it was connected to and hiding himself at the end of the chain out of sight from anyone emerging from the gateway.
The main reason he didn't go any further away from the gateway being that he had no idea what kind of dangers might be lurking inside of the secret realm and the fact that he could clearly feel his divine sense being somewhat suppressed after he entered the secret realm.
Not that he intended to use it considering it might end up waking up the turtle demon beast, but with the suppressed divine sense, he felt confident that he should have managed to go out of the Soul Ascension Realm cultivator's range in case he ended using his divine sense to investigate the surroundings after entering the secret realm. Even if the chances of that happening was low considering the presence of the turtle demon beast.
Whoosh~!
Over the next few seconds, Chu Yang watched from afar as the humans from the Mountain Demon City slowly began arriving through the gate before finding somewhere to quietly sit down and wait while waiting for the situation outside to resolve itself.
"Back here again… And that turtle is still down there…"
"Indeed, we just have to wait around here for a bit before going back again when the demon beasts leave and avoid waking that turtle up."
"Hopefully, none of the demon beasts end up following us through the gateway and wake up that turtle…"
None of them surprised by the turtle demon beast below them, as they began to casually be chatting with each other-
BOOOM-!
But the situation suddenly changed drastically, as the Soul Ascension Realm cultivator burst through the gateway. Followed by the gateway in question suddenly exploding. Sealing the path out of the secret realm-
RUMMBLE-!
However, this wasn't the worst of it, as Chu Yang looked on in disbelief, as the chains attached to the three mountains holding up the stone platform were suddenly detached, causing the massive stone platform to plummet down towards the turtle demon beast sleeping below it.
Even without knowing anything about the temper of this demon beast, Chu Yang was certain that the people falling down along with the stone platform were not likely to survive this ordeal…
Chapter 1368: No Way Out
BAAANG!
As the massive stone platform crashed into the turtle demon beast that was peacefully sleeping beneath it, everything suddenly seemed to go quiet, as nobody dared to move a single muscle. All remaining fully focused on the turtle demon beast now half buried beneath debris from the stone platform that shattered upon hitting its shell.
Rumble~!
The situation remained without any change for a few seconds, before a sudden movement from the turtle demon beast seemed to wake up everyone, as they wasted no time in trying to escape from the scene before the turtle demon beast fully woke up. Everyone understanding that the only reason they were still alive was because the turtle demon beast had not yet fully woken up and should still be in a rather confused state after suddenly being hit in the head by a large rock.
Of course, watching all of this playing out from afar, Chu Yang didn't intend to stay around and wait for the turtle demon beast to wake. Understanding very well how terrifying someone in the Dao Seed Realm was from the few spars he had with his master in the past.
Even if he was far stronger than a normal Domain Lord Realm cultivator, there was no way for him to directly cross two major realms, that was simply far too large of a leap. Especially considering that the Dao Seed Realm could be considered a major transformation compared to past major realms due to the Immortal Soul Tribulation one would have to go through to reach the realm.
But… The path out of the secret realm was destroyed just now… How in the world am I supposed to leave the secret realm in such a situation!?
Frowning visibly as he clearly remembered how the gateway had been destroyed after the Soul Ascension Realm cultivator passed through the gate, Chu Yang guessed that the Soul Ascension Realm demon beast that had been chasing after him might have destroyed the gate on the other side and thus caused the gate inside the secret realm to collapse.
Now that this path out had been destroyed, he had absolutely no idea how to leave the secret realm.
Hm? That Soul Ascension Realm cultivator doesn't seem that disturbed by the current situation…
As he continued moving further away from the location where the gateway had collapsed and the turtle demon beast was currently in the process of waking up, Chu Yang noticed the Soul Ascension Realm cultivator casual moving forward at a relatively slow speed followed by the Domain Lord Realm cultivators and a few of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.
Not showing a single bit of worry about the terrifying demon beast that was currently waking up not too far behind them or the fact that the only path outside the secret realm had been destroyed-
Unless… There is more than one gateway connected to this secret realm and they know about it!
Narrowing both of his eyes as he realized the most likely reason for those people to be so calm even in such a dangerous situation, Chu Yang could not help relaxing a bit, as he slowed down a bit before turning around and following behind the group of cultivators from the Demon Mountain City as they moved deeper into the secret realm.
From the looks of things, the turtle demon beast might not be as dangerous as he had first thought considering how these people were acting. In the end, the only ones who would end up dead were likely the ones who had panicked when the stone platform collapsed and ran off in different direction…
ROOOOAR-!
It was just at that moment he heard the terrifying roar of what he suspected to be the turtle demon beast, before suddenly sensing the terrifying demon beast charging over towards him and the other cultivators.
Whoosh~
However, just as the turtle demon beast became visible a few thousand meters away from where he was, Chu Yang watched in shock, as a chain not different from the one that had been holding up the massive stone platform before it plummeted to the ground, manifested around the turtle demon beast-
BANG!
And the next second, the turtle demon beast reached the limits of the chain and was forcefully pulled back by a tremendous force.
ROAR! ROOOOOAR-!
Even though it was unwilling, the turtle demon beast could do nothing but stare at them filled with killing intent, as the chain dragged it back towards the location of the stone platform where it had been sleeping not long ago before it had been rudely awoken.
"Indeed, that turtle can't leave the range of those three mountains. To think such a powerful demon beast was actually sealed in such a small space…"
"True, the one behind this secret realm should be someone at the Peak of the Earth Immortal Realm. Maybe even a legendary Celestial Immortal!"
"He, a Celestial Immortal? They aren't that easy to find, let alone a secret realm belonging to a fallen Celestial Immortal. After all, those major powers would seize the opportunity the moment such a secret realm got discovered. Leaving no chance for people like us to enter it."
"Don't worry about all of that. For now, let's first focus on getting out of here alive. Even if we know about the existence of a second gateway, its extremely dangerous and we did fail to enter it the last time we tried to breakthrough!"
Listening to the group of people from the Demon Mountain City, Chu Yang realized that the secret realm might be far more amazing than he first thought, while at the same time also getting a confirmation that this group of people did indeed have another way out of the secret realm.
More specifically, they had found another gateway.
Although… From their conversation, he could also tell that it wouldn't be that easy to reach this gateway and just leave the secret realm. From the looks of it, it was going to be a quite challenging endeavor…
Chapter 1369: A "Larger Than Normal" Worm
Even though it would be dangerous to follow behind the group of cultivators from the Demon Mountain City, Chu Yang didn't feel like he had much of a choice in the matter, as he had no idea how to make it out of the unfamiliar secret realm that he now found himself trapped inside of.
At least those people would be able to lead him towards a gate out of the secret realm, while he should at least be able to keep himself hidden from them by keeping a large enough distance between them. Not something hard to accomplish considering that the strongest demon beasts inside the jungle outside of the turtle demon beast was only around the Core Formation Realm.
Weak demon beasts like that, he was more than capable of hiding himself from. Even in this place where his divine sense and in turn his domain had been weakened.
And so, Chu Yang continued following the group of cultivators from the Demon Mountain City for the next few hours before they finally got to the edge of the jungle where they suddenly came to a stop while examining the massive desert that had now appeared in front of them.
"We are back at this blasted desert again… Hah… I really hope we won't encounter any of those oversized worms this time around…"
Hearing what one of the Domain Lord Realm cultivators said to himself as he stared into the seemingly endless desert stretching for as far as the eye could see, Chu Yang could not help feeling a bit worried about this oversized worm he mentioned.
After all, for it to cause a Domain Lord Realm cultivator to react in such a manner, Chu Yang was certain that this oversized worm wasn't just a larger than normal worm… And from the fearful expressions plastered all over the faces of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators who had managed to avoid separating from the group earlier, he was almost certain that this oversized worm was some kind of Domain Lord Realm demon beast.
The only problem was that a Domain Lord Realm demon beast shouldn't cause such a large reaction in this group. After all, they did have someone in the Soul Ascension Realm watching over them, a Domain Lord Realm demon beast shouldn't be able to make them that fearful.
Unless there is something special about that oversized worm demon beast…
Narrowing his eyes as he watched the group in front slowly start moving into the desert, Chu Yang didn't immediately follow them into the desert, but instead continued watching them as they proceeded deeper into the desert-
"Ah? AHHHH!? Worm! WOOORM!"
And not more than a few minutes after the group had started to cautiously move through the desert, Chu Yang heard one of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators trailing behind the rest suddenly yelling out, as the sand beneath him started vibrating, causing him to sink into the sand. Soon enough, this also affected other Nascent Soul Realm cultivators nearby, as they began similarly sinking into the sand.
Even worse, Chu Yang watched how these Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, who would normally have more than enough strength to get themselves out of such a situation was stuck without any way to free themselves from the sand.
The only way for them to get out was to have one of the Domain Lords fly over and pull them out.
However, it was also at this moment that Chu Yang noticed that the Domain Lord Realm cultivators had not been flying before even though there was a very clear danger associated with walking through the desert instead of flying through it-
Rumble-!
But this question had to wait for now, as Chu Yang watched in awe, as the sand in a close to hundred-meter circle suddenly collapsed in on itself as large teeth suddenly appeared in the sand further down the hole that had been created in the desert.
All of sudden, Chu Yang understood why these Nascent Soul Realm cultivators were so scared of these oversized worms.
At the same time, he also seemed to understand why the Soul Ascension Realm cultivator didn't take action to try and kill this massive demon beast, as it was simply far too large, while at the same time also being protected by the desert itself. Making it impossible to kill even though its strength should only be somewhere around the Late Stages of the Domain Lord Realm.
"Aaah!"
"NOooo-!"
In the end, not all of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators could be saved in time, as three of them ended up falling into the giant mouth. Soon getting swallowed up by the massive worm before it slowly disappeared beneath the sand.
Time that the group of cultivators used to try and make as much distance between themselves and where they knew the worm was located. Soon enough disappearing behind a large sand dune.
"Guess it's time for me to enter the desert if I want to continue following them…" Muttering this to himself as he stared at the place where the so-called oversized worm had emerged a short time earlier, Chu Yang could not help feeling a bit of fear when thinking about having to face off against such a massive demon beast.
Even if he was stronger than others in the Domain Lord Realm, he feared that he would have no way to fight such a massive demon beast even if he reached the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm. Maybe only when he surpassed the Domain Lord Realm would he stand a chance of fighting such an overpowered demon beast that seemed to transcend its cultivation realm in terms of strength…
"Huh?"
Of course, the moment he actually stepped into the desert, Chu Yang suddenly found his domain far more restricted compared to before, while flying had also become far more taxing compared to before, as he now found out why the Domain Lord Realm cultivators and the Soul Ascension Realm cultivator hadn't decided to fly through the desert but had instead decided to remain on foot.
In this kind of situation, even if I reach the Soul Ascension Realm, I doubt I will be able to fight that oversized worm…
Chapter 1370: River or Inland Sea?
Catching up with the group of cultivators from the Demon Mountain City over the next few minutes, Chu Yang soon began what would end up becoming a journey lasting for several days through the desert. Doing his best to avoid being detected during the few times that the group in front of him was attacked by the large sandworms lurking beneath the surface of the desert.
Luckily or maybe because he was on his own, he was never targeted by any of the sandworms and was pretty much left on his own. Making the entire journey through the desert a rather monotone and boring experience, as he had nothing to do outside of trying to figure out what kind of power was suppressing his domain.
In the end, he did manage to find some clues by the time that a grassland emerged in the distance and the group ahead of him rushed forward to leave the desert as fast as possible.
Through the clues, he guessed that the entire desert should have formed some kind of natural formation that suppressed the strength of those who wandered inside of it and prevented them from flying more than a few seconds even if they had reached the Domain Lord Realm.
All of this allowed the sandworms living inside the desert to have a perfect living environment without any challengers capable of defeating them. After all, without being able to fly properly or use one's domain, there was no way someone in the Domain Lord Realm could even harm those massive sandworms. Even someone in the Soul Ascension Realm had a difficult time, something he had seen when the Soul Ascension Realm cultivator in charge of the group ahead of him tried taking on one of the weaker sandworms only a little over seventy meters wide.
The battle had been a treat to watch from afar, but was rather discouraging, as it was essentially just the Soul Ascension Realm cultivator punching sand without being able to do anything to the sandworm as it slowly disappeared into the endless sea of sand.
Shaking his head as he thought about this, Chu Yang decided not to think about these sandworms any longer, as he would soon be out of the desert and would most likely never encounter them again after he left the secret realm. Unless there was another desert with sandworms waiting on the other side of the grassland.
Whoosh~!
Managing to avoid encounter any sandworms at the last stretch out of the desert, Chu Yang hid himself in the tall grass before resuming could in a way be called stalking of the cultivator group ahead of him. Not feeling too worried about his current situation, as it was clear that these people seemed to know what they were doing as they continued moving deeper into the secret realm with a clear path in mind.
…
"Finally! Out of that worm infested desert!"
"Haa… You don't say. Unfortunately, Old Jin didn't manage to make it through, he got swallowed just when we saw the grassland."
"Well, at least this grassland is far safer compared to that death trap, the strongest demon beast encountered during our last time visiting this place was only around the Earlier Stages of the Nascent Soul Realm."
"Indeed, I'm not worried about this grassland, but instead that dreadful canyon on the other side of this grassland…"
"True, though I really doubt that place can be called a canyon. After all, what kind of canyon is over a thousand kilometers wide? It's more like a small inland sea flowing through at that point…"
"I agree, but the ruins we found at that place called it a canyon. So, I guess it should be one, or at least was one in the past. Don't know if the size of it became larger since the time that so-called canyon was named as a canyon…"
"I don't care what it's called, I just hope we can get through it safely. After all, last time we tried to make it through, we only managed to make it halfway through before the city lord spotted the gateway on the other side.
At that point we were forced to turn back, having already lost more than two dozen Nascent Soul Realm cultivators and two Domain Lord Realm cultivators to those creatures inside the river."
"""…."""
As the group of Nascent Soul Realm cultivators chatted with each other about their upcoming crossing of what could essentially be considered an inland sea, all of them became quiet after the mention of the creatures living inside this more than a thousand-kilometer-wide river.
Even the Domain Lord Realm cultivators who had remained relatively calm so far could not help shivering a bit at the mention of those creatures, as they had personally been there to witness as two powerful Domain Lords no weaker than themselves had been dragged into the dark waters. Never returning to the surface again.
In the end, it had been because a creature in the Soul Ascension Realm emerged from the water that they were forced to escape the way they had come back then.
Not just that, but they also clearly remembered that they could feel several equally powerful creatures lurking beneath the surface staring at them during the entire process. Leaving some of these Domain Lord Realm cultivators far more terrified than the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators who hadn't been able to sense those powerful creatures back then.
All things considered, they understood how dangerous it would be for them to cross that river, but they simply had no choice, as this was the only path they had managed to successfully explore and also the only one where they were certain they could find a gate out of this secret realm.
If they tried exploring a new path, they might end up dying long before they can even find another gateway out of the secret realm… And that is of course only if there is another gateway out of the secret realm in the first place!
Chapter 1371: Dead Spirit Canyon
"There it is…"
As the conversation between the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators somewhat quieted down following the mentions of the creatures lurking inside the abnormally large river, the group of cultivators from the Demon Mountain City soon found themselves on the edge of cliff stretching endlessly into both directions with a seemingly endless body of water violently churring as it flowed in one direction. Creating several towering waves in the pitch-black water, some towering several hundreds of meters into the sky due to the violent currents.
"Dead Spirit Canyon… I really wonder where that rive leads to…" Standing at the edge of the cliff together with the rest as they looked down towards the pitch-black water, one of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators could not help muttering this to himself as he stared off in the direction that the river was flowing in.
In the past, when they first arrived in this place, they did try and figure this out, but only managed to travel for a little over two days before they were blocked off by a swamp filled with a deadly mist capable of almost immediately killing someone in the Domain Lord Realm. Forcing them to turn around and try going upstream, before encountering a similar situation. Only, the deadly mist wasn't inside a swamp this time around, but instead a mountain range.
Worse, that mist looked almost identical to spiritual energy when it was extremely concentrated, causing some of the cultivators that had been with them to rush forward filled with excitement only to end up dead.
At least in that aspect, the swamp made it clear that the mist was poisonous from a glance, while the mist covering the mountain range pretended to be spiritual qi. Making it far more deadly.
Ultimately this was what ended up causing them to decide on trying to venture across the river that looked like a violent sea from where they were currently standing.
Of course, crossing this body of water wouldn't be that difficult under normal conditions, but similar to the desert, something restricted those in the Domain Lord Realm and the city lord at the Soul Ascension Realm from flying for more than a few seconds.
Essentially forcing them to walk across the water. Normally not that difficult to accomplish even for someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm, while the violent water was something that a Peak Core Formation Realm should be able to cross as long as he avoids the larger waves in time at least that was what those Nascent Soul Realm cultivators believed, but outside of the water itself, they also had to deal with the creatures living beneath the surface.
Those creatures were weird and grotesque to look at. Always showing up at the most unexpected time to attack.
Even worse, it gave off the feeling of being played with whenever they attacked, as it had never seemed like they seriously attacked them and instead just played a little roughly with them and caused a few Nascent Soul Realm and Domain Lord Realm cultivators to die in the process…
I hope it won't end up like that again- or at least if it does, let me be one of the people who get safely to the other side…
Thinking this to himself as he looked around at the two or so dozen Nascent Soul Realm cultivators and three Domain Lord Realm cultivators left alive at this point in time, the Nascent Soul Realm cultivator closed his eyes as he began focusing on recovering his strength.
Given the difficulty of crossing the massive river that they didn't manage to cross in the past, it was agreed that they would all recover to their most optimal state before progressing forward. Everyone understood that if they managed to cross this ridiculously large river canyon, they would be able to leave the secret realm.
Even if they had no idea about what they might end up finding at the other side of the gateway located on the other side of the dead spirit canyon, they all felt that it would be better than whatever they might encounter by lingering around for too long inside the secret realm.
…
"This… Is a canyon? Dead Spirit Canyon?"
Listening in on the conversations between the cultivators who had begun preparing themselves to brave the violent waters, Chu Yang could not help muttering this to himself as he stared off into the distance where he could see the pitch-black water violently churning as wave hundreds of meters tall formed at random before disappearing just as randomly.
Even without the presence of the creature mentioned by the group of cultivators, it would be difficult for someone in the Nascent Soul Realm to cross the river. The main reason being how wide it was, as those weaker Nascent Soul Realm cultivators would run out of strength before reaching the other side. Getting swallowed up by the pitch-black water as a result.
A Core Formation Realm cultivator crossing such a wide and violent river like the in front of him felt a little unrealistic and seemed more like the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators trying to cope with the fact that they might not be able to cross the river with their current strength.
No matter what it was, Chu Yang understood that the reason for these thoughts and the behavior was because these Nascent Soul Realm cultivators had no other way out of the secret realm. Only by crossing the river would they have a chance at surviving.
Without crossing the river, they would be abandoned and have to find another way out of the secret realm by themselves. No different from a death sentence with their strength in the Nascent Soul Realm.
Oh? Looks like its time…
As Chu Yang was a bit lost in his own thoughts about the canyon and unnaturally large river inside of it, half an hour had flown by since arriving at the edge of the river… And it looked like the group of cultivators from Demon Mountain City had recovered enough and slowly descended towards the water below before using their qi to create a barrier between themselves and the water.
Allowing them to walk across the water, as they officially began their journey across the pitch-black waters under Chu Yang's watchful gaze hoping that he could catch a glimpse of one of the creatures mentioned by the Nascent Soul Realm cultivators earlier on.
Chapter 1372: Crossing Deadly Waters in a Single Step
Whoosh-!
In the end, Chu Yang didn't have to wait for long, as a small black fish soon jumped out of the water. Tackling one of the nascent soul realm cultivators and causing him to lose his footing and fall into the pitch-black water-
"Ah!?"
Splash~
Before even getting the chance to cry out for help from the others, he was dragged down below the surface. Not emerging again, as the rest of the cultivators could only helplessly look at each other for a short moment before continuing forward with a far more nervous expression on their faces. Understanding that the creatures lurking beneath the surface had already noticed them and begun to target them.
"How is that black fish grotesque? It just looks like a slightly larger than normal black fish…"
Watching all of this playing out from a safe distance, Chu Yang couldn't help tilting his head in confusion as he wondered how such a simple looking black fish was grotesque, but he soon got his answer as another black fish jumped out of the water to knock a second Nascent Soul Realm into the pitch-black water.
However, as this Nascent Soul Realm cultivator had been prepared, he managed to skill fully dodge out of the, but it was at that moment that the body of the black fish suddenly twisted before parts of its body broke open and countless small tentacles that then grabbed onto the Nascent Soul Realm cultivator emerged before dragging him into the water.
If Xuan Hao had been present, he would have almost immediately realized that this creature was related to the Dao of Corruption, but Chu Yang, having no idea about the Dao of Corruption, could only nod his head in agreement with the earlier descriptions of the creatures below the water being grotesque.
Though, he did find it troublesome that he would also have to cross over the river if he wanted to leave the secret realm. After all, it was deadly to someone in the Soul Ascension Realm, so it would definitely not be safe for him to recklessly cross it.
With that in mind, Chu Yang turned his attention towards the only structure present at the cliffside, a large stone tower of sorts that was slightly leaning over the edge. Looking like it was about to plummet into the water below at any moment.
This tower was also the ruin that had been mentioned by the group of cultivators from the Demon Mountain City and also where they had apparently found the name Dead Spirit Canyon in the past.
Although, from their conversations, it seemed like they didn't find anything of value inside the stone tower.
Even then, Chu Yang wanted to take a look for himself before he intended to try and cross the thousand-kilometer-wide river.
So, without caring about the group of cultivators trying their hardest to cross the river at the moment, Chu Yang began looking through the stone tower. Searching for anything that the people who had come before him might have overlooked. Feeling curious if he could possibly find another way to cross the dead spirit lake.
In the end, a little over a day ended up flying by, as the cultivators trying to cross the river had long since disappeared from sight.
"Finally! Found something!"
It was just at this moment, that Chu Yang let out an overjoyed cry, as he looked down at a small inscription barely visible inside the small reception room located at the base of the stone tower.
Even though he was unfamiliar with formation symbols, he at least recognized the formation symbols below him as belonging to some kind of ancient teleportation formation, something that his master had taught him about before he left for his journey so he could better ensure his own safety in case he encountered something similar to what Mui had encountered inside the mystic realm.
"An ancient teleportation formation… I wonder where it's connected to…" Muttering this to himself as he looked down at what turned out to be an ancient teleportation formation, Chu Yang could not help glancing out across the pitch-black river churning violently below him.
Given the location of the ancient teleportation formation right next to such a violent river, he guessed that it might have been created to more easily move around in the past.
So, without a second thought, he decided to inject his qi into the ancient teleportation formation to try and activate it.
Even if it didn't end up leading to the other side of the unnaturally large river, he at least guessed that it should lead him to somewhere better than where he currently was.
Rumble~
And so, along with a slight rumble, the ancient formation activated before Chu Yang disappeared from his original location inside the stone tower-
Rumble-!
Followed by which a far more violent tremor seemed to rush through the structure of the stone tower before it seemed to lose its strength.
Splash! Splash! Splash!
Plummeting into the depths of the water below the next second, as the single activation of the ancient teleportation formation seemed to take up what little energy had remained in the ancient formations keeping the tower standing for countless years…
"Huh? This is… The stone tower? No, it's different…"
At the same time, Chu Yang opened both of his eyes in a completely different stone tower that was in a far better state than the previous one.
Of course, after making sure that he was save and nothing had gone wrong, he left the tower and went out to inspect the place he had ended up at.
Not taking long to realize that he had ended up in some kind of small city that had long since been abandoned, but more importantly, he saw the familiar pitch black water directly behind the stone tower… And in the distance, he could even spot the barely visible figures of the group of cultivators from the Demon Mountain City who had traversed the deadly waters for the past two days at this point in time.
Chapter 1373: Spirit Stones and Strange Black Spear
Compared to when he had last seen them heading off towards the other side of the pitch black river, Chu Yang could clearly see that their numbers had been significantly reduced compared to before, with only 5 people in the Nascent Soul Realm alive, while only a single Domain Lord Relam was still alive together with the Soul Ascension Realm city lord who looked like he had lost one of his arms during the journey and didn't have the strength to regrow it at the moment.
Ah… Make that four Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, one of them were just grabbed by a few tentacles and dragged below the surface.
Even if they did make it to the other side, it should at least be another twenty or so minutes given their current exhausted and slow speed.
Before that, I should quickly look through this city and see if there is anything useful around…
Swish-!
Not wasting any more time looking at the remaining few cultivators from the Demon Mountain City as they struggled through the tall waves while also trying to defend against any unexpected attacks from the creatures lurking below the surface, Chu Yang first checked the tower to see if this one was as empty as the last one.
"Spirit stones!? And top-grade ones as well!"
Surprisingly, he actually found something when he reached the top of the stone tower. Top grade spirit stones, something that could be considered rare even in the core region of the continent. Useful for cultivators in the Dao Seed Realm as they could slightly help with comprehension, while also being indispensable in any higher-level formations.
Whoosh-!
Without a second thought, Chu Yang placed the spirit stones inside his interspatial ring before continuing to look around the tower for more treasures. Unfortunately, he didn't find any more spirit stones and soon left the stone tower to search through the rest of the abandoned city.
Soon enough, he swept through all of the buildings except one and managed to get his hand on over a thousand top grade spirit stones. From what he knew, this was more than what the entire Star Shattering Sect had or to be more precise close to a hundred times what was currently inside the sect, as the sect didn't really have a way to mine top grade spirit stones, as most mine capable of producing such spirit stones were located in the core region.
The few that the sect had was obtained through luck.
If he could bring the thousand or so top grade spirit stones back to the sect, it would definitely help in the future growth of the sect!
Creak~
As he thought about this, Chu Yang slowly pushed open the door to the last house in the abandoned city, filled with anticipation, as he had saved this house for last given it was located at the center of the city and was by far the largest one.
"Huh? No… No spirit stones?"
However, as he stepped into the abandoned house, he almost immediately realized that there were no spirit stones inside, as the house was essentially just a single large open room. The only thing he could see was a small pedestal located at the center of the room-
"Ah? Wait! A pedestal?! Treasure!?" Feeling like there was still hope for this house, Chu Yang focused his full attention on the pedestal, or more specifically the pitch-black spear the seemed to be hovering a few centimeters above it.
Even without knowing about the quality of the spear, Chu Yang was certain, this was a definitely a treasure!
Swish-!
And so, without a second thought, Chu Yang dashed forward and grabbed the black spear to examine it more closely-
Boom-!
However, the moment he grabbed the spear, he suddenly felt a terrifying power erupting from the spear before rushing directly into his dantian before he had a chance to defend himself.
Is this how I die?
Feeling the terrifying power rush into his dantian, Chu Yang could not help thinking this to himself as he blamed himself for being too careless-
BOOOOM-!
And it was just at that moment the terrifying power from the black spear reached the soul at the center of his dantian, causing it to activate the protection Xuan Hao had attached to his disciple's soul in case of deadly threat that they couldn't react to in time.
RUUUUMBLE-!
In the end, the terrifying power erupting from the spear was quickly overwhelmed before a radiant sword intent bloomed inside Chu Yang's dantian before rushing towards the source of the power that had tried to attack Chu Yang's soul.
"Noooo! Not like thissss!"
Soon enough rushing into the black spear where a pitiful scream echoed out a second later before the sword intent retreated back into the depths of Chu Yang's soul. Leaving no traces of its existence behind.
"…"
That should be something left behind by master…
Not knowing what to say as the battle that had broken out inside his dantian was over in an instant, Chu Yang could only thank his master before turning his attention back towards the black spear that now felt far more comfortable in his hand.
Given that he was no longer that naïve when it came to the cultivation world, it didn't take him long to understand that the thing that had attacked his soul just now should have been a remnant soul of a long dead ancient cultivator hidden inside the black spear trying to take control of his body.
Now that the soul had been destroyed by his master from what little he could tell, the black spear was safe to use-
Rumble~!
However, before he had a chance to inspect the black spear any further, he suddenly felt a stream of pure spiritual qi flowing into his body from the black spear, causing his cultivation still at the Second Stage of the Domain Lord Realm to start improving at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Chapter 1374: Chu Yang, Rapid Breakthrough
Boom!
Not long after, Chu Yang broke through to the Third Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, however, it didn't stop there, as his cultivation kept rising until he finally came to a stop after reaching the Peak of the Fifth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm.
If not for the fact that his cultivation was in a rather unstable state at the moment, he would have wanted to try and figure out more about where that powerful and pure spiritual qi had suddenly come from, but for now, he quickly sat down and stabilized his cultivation base enough that he could move around normally after 10 minutes.
Even if he wanted to stay and fully consolidate his cultivation base, he understood that he couldn't remain inside the abandoned city when the cultivators from Demon Mountain City arrived.
So, having already found the gateway out of the secret realm as it was essentially at the center of the abandoned town and difficult to miss, Chu Yang placed the black spear into his interspatial ring before rushing out and arriving directly in front of the gateway-
Whoosh-!
And without any hesitation he stepped through the gateway just as one of the few surviving Nascent Soul Realm cultivators popped his head up over the edge of the cliff before dragging his exhausted body up on the ground before falling unconscious due to the overwhelming exhaustion from the two-day long journey across the violent river.
Not far behind him, the city lord, a Domain Lord and two other Nascent Soul Realm cultivators similarly collapsed on the ground from exhaustion. All of them having been pushed to their limits over the past two days, as they constantly had to fight off strange creatures and keep themselves afloat at the same time.
In the end, they were the only ones who had ended up surviving out of the close to three dozen people who had gone at the start.
But that didn't matter to any of them, they were just happy that they had managed to survive.
As for leaving the secret realm? None of them were dumb enough to do something like that in their current exhausted and half dead state, as they expected to end up somewhere like where they had found the first entrance to the secret realm. Inside a mountain range filled to the brim with powerful demon beasts that would want nothing more than to jump on them and devour them if given the opportunity.
…
"A small cave and hidden by a formation as well. If not for that Soul Ascension Realm cultivator who might come through the gateway at any moment now, I would have really loved to stay in a location like this to stabilize my cultivation base."
Coming out on the other side of the gateway connected to the secret realm, Chu Yang first felt relived that it wasn't somewhere dangerous where he would get jumped by a group of powerful demon beasts the moment he arrived, but at the same time also felt disappointed that he couldn't stay with a Soul Ascension Realm cultivator potentially appearing through the gateway to the secret realm at any moment.
Knowing the danger of staying for even a few seconds longer, Chu Yang quickly made his way to the entrance of the cave before looking out to see if the environment outside was just as safe as inside the concealment formation.
"No demon beasts stronger than the Foundation Establishment Realm around… Great! This place isn't as dangerous as I thought it might be." Muttering this to himself after inspecting the outside environment, Chu Yang felt even more at ease before he made his way out of the concealment formation. Looking like he suddenly stepped out through solid rock in the eyes of anyone witnessing the scene of him leaving the concealment formation.
Huh? This is still a mountain range… And that path over there- Isn't that the end of the safe passage? Did I manage to cross through the mountain range by accident?
Inspecting his surroundings more in-depth now that he had left the small cave, Chu Yang could not help showing a somewhat shocked expression on his face when he realized that he had ended up right next to the endpoint of the safe passage through the mountain range separating the core region from the former territory of the Sky Empire.
Seeing a small city that had been described in the information about the safe passage through the mountain range not too far away, Chu Yang confirmed that he had indeed made it to the core region of the continent.
If not that, he could also clearly feel that the spiritual qi in the air was far denser than it had been back in the Sky Empire's territory.
Of course, it was still far inferior when compared to the Shattered Star Peaks, but it wasn't like there was anything to compare the chaotic qi formation to…
"For now, find a safe place, stabilize my cultivation base. After that explore the core region!" Muttering this to himself as he gazed off towards the small city in the distance, Chu Yang quickly set his priorities straight before he left the place and went to search for a safe place to consolidate his cultivation base at the Peak of the Fifth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm without being disturbed when the Soul Ascension Realm city lord would inevitably emerge from the secret realm like he had.
In the end, he settled for a small, secluded cave a few hundred meters away, as he made sure to try his best at hiding his presence before sealing the entrance with a large rock to prevent anyone or anything from accidentally stumbling into the cave before he sat down in a meditative position and focused his full attention on consolidating his cultivation base.
Given that he had directly broken through from the Secon Stage of the Domain Lord Realm to the Peak of the Fifth Stage, it would take him at least a few weeks to fully stabilize his cultivation base.
Of course, though he felt sad at using so much of his time just cultivating in seclusion after reaching the core region, he wasn't too sad when thinking about the reason for it.
Chapter 1375: Erasing a Little Renmant Soul~
"Hm? The protection I left behind for Chu Yang was activated?"
Deep in meditation back inside a large city located in the Blue Sea Empire with a Peak Soul Ascension Realm cultivator watching over it, Xuan Hao suddenly opened both of his eyes in surprise as he felt the last defensive measure he had left behind inside Chu Yang's soul suddenly being activated all of a sudden.
Although he had noticed that he had wandered into what he guessed to be a secret realm from how he couldn't properly pinpoint the general direction of his disciple through the connection between him and the mark he had left behind in his disciple's soul, he hadn't expected it to be so dangerous that it would trigger the hidden trump card of his disciple.
At least, with the mark being activated, he could somewhat sense the situation his disciple was in… And what he saw enraged him to no end, as a remnant soul that should have belonged to someone around the Peak of the Dao Seed Realm was actually trying to wipe out his disciple's soul and take control of his body.
Even though this little remnant soul was in an extremely weakened state, it wasn't something his little disciple could handle with his current strength, thus causing the soul mark to be activated when his soul was in danger.
Of course, the soul mark had already managed to repel the remnant soul on its own and it had already started retreating, but Xuan Hao had no plans of allowing it to simply run away after trying to destroy his disciple's soul-
Whoosh-!
So, with a simple thought, he motioned for the soul mark to follow and destroy the remnant soul at its core.
"Senior, please spare me! I didn't know this was your disciple, just let me go and I will make sure to repay you, no I will serve you as an obedient dog! Don't kill me!"
As a terrifying sword intent bloomed inside his little disciple's dantian before rushing towards the core of remnant soul, Xuan Hao heard a few pitiful cries coming through his soul connection as the remnant soul began pleading for mercy, but Xuan Hao didn't bother listening to any of it as he pressed forward. Rapidly destroying the remnant soul.
"Noooo! Not like thissss!"
And in less than a fraction of a second, the battle ended, as the remnant soul was destroyed.
However, he found out that there was a large abundance of extremely pure qi inside the space that the remnant soul should have gathered and painstakingly refined over the long period of time he had been stuck inside the small space. Likely in preparation for rapidly increasing his own strength when he got his hands on a body in the future or gather enough qi to rebuild his own body.
Well, no need to waste his effort, I should guide it out and let Chu Yang absorb it, it will be helpful for his cultivation.
Nodding his head as he thought this to himself, Xuan Hao created a small passage for the pure spiritual qi to flow through and into his disciple before he returned the soul mark back to his disciple's soul where it once again entered a dormant state.
Although the soul mark hadn't really used that much of its strength during this period, him taking control of it over such a long distance still had costs and the soul mark could at most be used one more time before it had to replaced.
However, Xuan Hao didn't worry too much about this, as it was unlikely for his disciple to run into a similar scenario to the one, he had just experienced in the future. Especially considering that he should be strong enough to fight most people in the Domain Lord Realm after he absorbed the pure spiritual qi that had been painstakingly refined by the now dead remnant soul.
"Everything should be fine with that. Now, my own situation… There is no sign of any demonic cultivator chasing after me and it's been close to a week since I broke in and stole the space node stones.
Either the other party doesn't have a way to track me or doesn't dare to enter the Blue Sea Empire. Likely the latter of the two. But… How can I create even more trouble and hopefully avoid the battlefield between the Blue Sea Empire and the demonic cultivators being anywhere near the sect?" Saying this, Xuan Hao unconsciously glanced out through a nearby window and happened to look straight out at a large sign.
[Blue Sea Empire, Intelligence Department]
A familiar sign belonging to a branch of the Blue Sea Empire's intelligence department.
And all of sudden, Xuan Hao realized just how he was going to cause trouble for both the demonic cultivators and the Blue Sea Empire at the same time without involving the Star Shattering Sect in any of the problems that these powerful forces might end up causing.
Whoosh-!
The next second, he found himself directly in front of the entrance leading inside the intelligence department where he decisively decided on using his explorer union identity, Bright Sword, an identity he didn't have the chance to use in a long time, as most of his recent activities didn't really require him to hide his identity in any way like what he was about to do at the moment.
"Oh well, I hope they bite the bait. After all, I'm not going to say anything false." Chuckling to himself as he said this, Xuan Hao stepped inside the Blue Sea Empire's intelligence department, a space node stone in hand as he directly informed the one sitting at the front to inform the one in charge of the branch that he had some important information he wanted to sell.
Revealing an aura that was around the level of someone in the Dao Seed Realm to make it a bit more convincing and have them take him more seriously. Understanding that there was little chance they would believe him without him showing some of his strength.
Chapter 1376: Facing a Senior Bootlicker
At the top floor of the intelligence department branch, the head of the branch was lazily lounging around while playing with a few artifacts while being pampered by two scantly clad woman laying down together with him.
BANG!
"Head! HEAAAAD! There is someone who wants to sell information! HE WANTS TO SEE YOU!"
However, just as the head of the branch was enjoying this serene atmosphere and company, a loud bang echoed out through the entire room, as he saw his subordinate rushing in screaming at the top of his lungs. Ruining the mood, while also scaring his two companions in the process.
"Hmph!"
Boom!
Deciding to teach this little subordinate a valuable lesson for his rude behavior, the branch directly revealed his strength at the Second Stage of the Soul Ascension Realm, as he used the powerful pressure created on the rude little subordinate who had interrupted his good time.
"Head, it's important! We have to go fast, or we might offend the senior if we are too slow!"
However, seemingly having been infused by some kind of divine chicken blood, the little subordinate who was only in the Nascent Soul Realm continued chirping without stop. Clearly not showing any respect of care towards his superior, someone who was really in need of-
"Wait… Did you say senior…?"
"Yes! An Earth Immortal Realm senior!"
"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO EARLIER! OUT MY WAY!"
WHOOSH-!
Hearing that there was actually a senior in the Earth Immortal Realm present, the head of the branch screamed even more loudly than his subordinate had when he first burst through the door. Throwing the two woman who had been leaning up against him to the side as he jumped up at terrifying speed unbefitting of someone in the Soul Ascension Realm before dashing out of the room towards the reception part of the building where Xuan Hao was currently waiting.
…
"Ah, senior, I'm the manager of this humble establishment, I hope I didn't offend you with my tardy behavior and late arrival. If there is anything I can do for you, please tell me and I will make sure I do everything in my power to accomplish it!"
"This… I-I have come to sell some information that I'm sure the Blue Sea Empire would be interested in buying."
Faced with what a senior bootlicker working in the government for the first time, Xuan Hao was slightly taken aback before quickly regaining his calm. Stating the reason why he had come to the intelligence department.
"Selling information? Haha, I'm sure whatever information senior offers is worth a mountain of spirit stones! Please follow me and we will discuss this matter in more detail in a more private environment."
Not lowering his stance in the slightest, the head of the branch motioned for him to follow, and Xuan Hao slowly followed him into a small private room for business.
"So, might I ask what kind of information senior is selling? No matter what it is, I will make sure to put in a good word to higher management and ensure senior gets the best price for his information!"
"This..."
Thump~
Rolling his eyes slightly at the words of the branch head, Xuan Hao directly placed the space node stone on the small table, causing the branch head to show a somewhat confused expression before it was replaced by one with shock upon recognizing what the stone in front of him was.
"A space node stone! Those are quite rare… I wonder… How is this related to the information you want to sell…?"
"I want to sell you the location of space node stone mine."
"Space node stone… Mine…?"
"Yes."
"This… I… Wait a second, I have to inform my higher ups, I can't handle something of this scale!"
Realizing that he was being serious, the expression of the branch head quickly changed as he rushed out of the private room. Understanding that he had no way to negotiate something that precious on behalf of the Blue Sea Empire.
Even then, he wasn't the slightest bit mad, but instead overjoyed, as he would still be the one who started this deal and the reward, he would receive would by no means be small considering the value of a space node stone mine.
In the end, Xuan Hao waited around inside the small private room for a few hours as he waited for someone higher up to arrive. Considering the distance from the capital he expected it to take a few hours and wasn't bothered about sitting around inside the private room waiting.
"Sorry for the wait, I'm here to negotiate on behalf of the Blue Sea Empire, might I ask what I can call you?"
Just as the three-hour mark flew by, a powerful voice echoed out from the entrance to the small private room as a massive figure walked inside. Even at a glance, Xuan Hao could tell that this person was strong. At least comparable to someone at the Middle Stage of the Dao Seed Realm. Meaning that following the terms of the Earth Immortal Realm, he would be considered as someone at the Peak of the Earth Immortal Realm or someone at the Half Bloom Stage.
"Just call me Bright Sword, a member of the Explorer Union."
"Bright Sword? Explorer Union? I see, no wonder, it always you people from the Explorer Union who discover all those wonderful mining locations and other deposits, though, with the relationship between the Blue Sea Empire and your Explorer Union, I didn't think you would come here to sell such valuable information…"
"Don't worry about, I normally work independently, and I'm not involved that deeply with the Explorer Union to care about their grudges and enemies."
"A free roaming explorer? Hehe, quite rare considering your strength, but let's get down to business, if what you say is true, I will ensure that the Blue Sea Empire pays you adequately for the information.
Of course, if you give use an already known location or somewhere that is impossible for us to set up a stable mining operation like the core territory of the Frozen Wasteland, we won't buy the information."
"Understandable. Now, let's get started…"
Chapter 1377: Space Node Mine (Controlled by Demonic Cultivators)
As he began explaining the location of the space node stone mine, Xuan Hao could see that the face of the person from the Blue Sea Empire's intelligence department was becoming brighter by the second.
Then again, it was not that surprising considering that the location of the space node stone mine wasn't anywhere in the core region, but instead at the remote edges of the continent where no major power was located. Meaning that the space node stone mine wasn't inside the territory of any of the other major powers. Eliminating the biggest worry on the side of the Blue Sea Empire when it came to actually taking control of the mine.
Of course, it didn't mean that the space node stone mine was located in an optimal location either, as it was still far away from the Blue Sea Empire and would take a long time for anyone below the Celestial Immortal Realm or without a mastery over the Dao of Space to reach. Especially considering that the fastest way would be to go straight through the territory of the demonic cultivators, the Frozen Wasteland.
Even then, this only made the Blue Sea Empire's intelligence officer more convinced about the validity of what he said, as it would be far easier to name somewhere close to the Blue Sea Empire if he wanted to scam them, something that the Blue Sea Empire's intelligence officer couldn't rule out considering their current relationship with the Explorer Union.
After all, no matter what Xuan Hao told him about his relationship with the Explorer Union, there was no way he would just trust the words of a stranger he had only met for the first time today. Even more so considering that he had never heard about this Bright Sword before. Making him guess that there was a possibility that the person in front of him might have used a fake name if he wanted to scam the Blue Sea Empire.
"Ehm! Everything checks out well… Now… I would like to ask if you are willing to allow us to investigate the location and confirm the validity of you claim?"
For this reason, after hearing Xuan Hao explain what little he had learnt about the mine during his quick pass through the place to steal a few space node stones, the intelligence officer nervously leaned forward as he asked this.
If Xuan Hao agreed to allow them to survey the area and confirm there was indeed a space node stone mine where he claimed it was, it would mean that the claim was most likely true, while if it was false, there was a high chance that it wasn't true.
Even then, considering the value of a space node stone mine, they would still buy the information to ensure they didn't end up missing something precious like that. Of course, they would be offering a far lower price in that case.
"Yes, though, I do have to mention that the mine has already been discovered by demonic cultivators and was guarded by a demonic cultivator in the Demon Lord Realm." Nodding his head, Xuan Hao decided to also disclose the fact that the mine was guarded and had been discovered by demonic cultivators, causing the overjoyed expression on the face of the intelligence officer after hearing his agreement to transform into a frown upon hearing about the presence of demonic cultivators.
To not give away too much about the demonic cultivators he had encountered and how strong they were nor the existence of the formation guarding the mine itself, Xuan Hao made sure to only inform him about the presence of a single demonic cultivator in the Demon Lord Realm and nothing else.
After all, they would inevitably discover the demonic cultivators and anymore that appeared could just be because the demonic cultivator guarding the place discovered him and informed others about his presence, causing the defenses of the mine to increase.
Not to mention, what Xuan Hao wanted from the Blue Sea Empire was not spirit stones or artifacts, but instead for them to utilize one of their Celestial Immortals to check out the situation personally!
His main goal was to have that Celestial Immortal Realm Ancestor hopefully run into the demonic cultivator in the Demon King Realm, clashing with him or her in the outer regions of the continent. Essentially trapping them there with no clear way out and more demonic cultivators at the Demon King Realm likely wanting to jump the opportunity to kill off someone in the Celestial Immortal Realm.
In turn, this would force the Blue Sea Empire to mobilize more of their Celestial Immortal Realm Ancestors to help out their struggling ancestor.
At the end of the day, a major fight that would weaken both the demonic cultivators and Celestial Immortal Realm Ancestors from the Blue Sea Empire would break out far away from the Star Shattering Sect.
Even if demonic cultivators wanted to use the opportunity to invade the Blue Sea Empire at this point in time, Xuan Hao doubted that there would be any above the Demon Lord Realm, as they would most likely be busy.
Not to mention, if the Blue Sea Empire moved out with most of their Celestial Immortal Realm Ancestors, it was likely that the few remaining inside the empire would lock down the entire empire to prevent any such attacks.
Meaning the only real threat would be the demonic cultivators trying to push their territory closer to the borders of the Blue Sea Empire during this time, something Xuan Hao felt confident in being able to safeguard the Star Shattering Sect against.
"Demonic cultivators in control of the space node stone mine… Wait a second, I will contact an ancestor about the situation first!" Muttering the first part to himself, the intelligence officer quickly turned around and left the small room in hurry.
Not unexpected considering that the matter now also involved demonic cultivators of at least the Demon Lord Realm. Investigating the mine in question would at least take someone at the Peak of the Earth Immortal Realm (Middle Stage Dao Seed Realm) or someone in the Celestial Immortal Realm.
Chapter 1378: Overconfident Ancestor
In the end, it didn't take as long as the first time around, as only a few minutes passed before Xuan Hao felt a terrifying aura appearing on the other side of the door. Following which a tall middle-aged man dressed in a simple manner walked into the room.
"Greetings, senior." Knowing that this person was one of the Blue Sea Empire's ancestors the moment he had appeared, Xuan Hao quickly got up and bowed his head in a simple greeting, something that could be considered a first given that most of the people he had encountered so far stronger than him had tried to kill him the moment they appeared. Not like now, where he was actually a junior facing a stronger senior cultivator.
"No need, you can sit down."
However, as he heard the somewhat smug and arrogant voice from the Celestial Immortal Realm Ancestor, Xuan Hao felt like he might have preferred it if this person had just tried to kill him, as he understood how to deal with such a situation. Not like now.
He wasn't a senior bootlicker like the head of this branch of the Blue Sea Empire Intelligence Department and so, he only ended up nodding his head with a somewhat awkward smile before sitting down.
"So, you have information about the location of a spirit node stone mine and is willing to allow us to confirm the validity of the claim?"
"Yes!"
"Good, what do you want in return? A cultivation mantra for the Celestial Immortal Realm? Artifacts? Spiritual Herbs or Spiritual Metal? Spirit stones?"
"Spirit stones, spiritual herbs and spiritual metal. Any of those will do, of course at least Transcendent Grade spiritual herbs and spiritual metal and only top-grade spirit stones." Hearing what the Celestial Immortal Realm Ancestor in front of him said, Xuan Hao didn't hesitate as he listed out the things he had thought about wanting in return for the information beforehand.
Even if he didn't expect to get these things considering that he expected the Blue Sea Empire to fall into chaos soon as they would clash with the demonic cultivators in the outer regions of the continent, he at least had to sound convincing and be able to answer immediately. After all, there was no way someone went to a major power like the Blue Sea Empire to sell such valuable information without already having some demands in mind.
Although, he did feel a bit confused about why the Celestial Immortal Realm Ancestor didn't mention anything about the demonic cultivators at the mine, but that wasn't really anything he cared about.
"Hm… Simple demand… No requirements for the kind of spiritual herbs or spiritual metal you want?"
"No."
"I see, I don't have that many top-grade spirit stones on me at the moment, so I will just pay you with those to make up for the lacking spirit stones. Wait a moment."
Not expecting to get paid immediately, Xuan Hao could not help showing a somewhat confused expression on his face as he watched the Celestial Immortal Realm Ancestor take out a small interspatial ring before placing several different spiritual herbs and spiritual metals into the ring. Along with a large number of top-grade spirit stones.
"Here, check if this is enough."
"…"
Feeling the interspatial ring that had been thrown over to him, Xuan Hao could not help feeling even more doubtful as he checked the content of the interspatial ring.
And… It was filled to the brim with spiritual herbs, metals and spirit stones.
Considering the value of the information he had traded along with the danger of demonic cultivators, Xuan Hao felt that this was more than enough. Even a bit on the generous side.
Even though… He could not help but feel confused as to why this had been given to him now before he had even confirmed the accuracy of the information he had sold him.
"Hehe, I can see what you are thinking with that look on your face, but don't worry, I'm confident that you don't want to try and do something dumb like scamming me and my empire…. And if you do, I'm more than confident in catching you again.
Even if you have managed to comprehend the Dao of Space to the Small Success Realm, I myself am already at the Peak of the Small Success Realm in the Dao of Space! Though, this is already well known, hehe!"
"…"
Not knowing what to say in response, Xuan Hao just tried his best to show a look of surprise and admiration, though… Even if he did a bad job, it looked like it wouldn't really matter with this ancestor in front of him.
Overconfident in himself and trying his best to show off, seemingly looking for praise, Xuan Hao suddenly understood why the branch head was such a skilled bootlicker when he had this kind of superior.
Oh well… This would work good for him, as the other party had essentially revealed to him that he had only reached the Peak of the Small Success Realm in the Dao of Space and would have no real way to catch him when he left later on.
Not to mention, this ancestor's overconfidence in himself had caused him to directly give away the resources he wanted in exchange for the information before he had even confirmed the accuracy of the information…
"Well then, I will go out and check this location myself. Of course, with my strength and profound comprehension of the Dao of Space, it will only take a short time to do something that simple!"
Whoosh-!
"…"
Deciding to erase the existence of this ancestor of the Blue Sea Empire from his memory as he disappeared just as fast as he had come, Xuan Hao didn't continue staying around inside the branch and quickly left. Not intending on staying in the Blue Sea Empire for more than a few days, as he knew that in another week or so, this overconfident ancestor should be able to reach the location he had given him and would end up being attacked by the demonic cultivators.