Chapter 1391: Exploring the Star Shattering Sect (3)
Continuing deeper inside the Star Shattering Sect while following behind Shen Xuefeng, Shu Yin could not help feeling more and more amazed as she finally had the opportunity to feel the terrifying spiritual qi concentration inside the Shattered Star Peaks.
Even those holy lands in the central part of the continent shouldn't be too far off from this place. Cultivating in here, it's no wonder that the Star Shattering Sect has so many young Domain Lord Realm cultivators. If I get the chance… It might not be a bad idea for me to join this kind of sect…
Thinking this to herself, Shu Yin felt more inclined than ever to join the Star Shattering Sect, as she understood very well just how useful the environment created inside the Shattered Star Peaks would be for cultivation.
Even if the Star Shattering Sect didn't have anything other than the cultivation environment to offer her, it was more than enough to someone like her at the Later Stages of the Domain Lord Realm, as the rich spiritual qi environment would also make it easier for her to comprehend the dao of her domain and get closer to the Soul Ascension Realm.
Of course, she understood that the Star Shattering Sect didn't just have the rich cultivation environment, as she soon walked past the platforms below the Seventh Star Peak used for those trying to break through to the Domain Lord Realm or the Nascent Soul Realm.
Did the Star Shattering Sect also have these kinds of platforms to assist those breaking through to the Soul Ascension Realm?
As this thought emerged, Shu Yin couldn't keep calm as she turned around and directly asked Shen Xuefeng about the platforms at the base of the Seventh Star Peak. Unable to contain her curiosity.
"The Nascent Soul and Domain Lord Realm Platforms? Hm… From what I know, they should have been created by Grand Elder Xuan and Senior Yi Min, other than helping those of the sect breakthrough the Nascent Soul Realm or Domain Lord Realm, I don't know about any other purpose."
"I see… So, what about those breaking through to the Soul Ascension Realm? Is there a similar place to this one for those breaking through to the Soul Ascension Realm?"
"That… I don't know, I only just recently broke through to the Domain Lord Realm and haven't really thought much about my breakthrough to the Soul Ascension Realm, as its still far off in the future…"
"I understand…"
Hearing Shen Xuefeng's response, Shu Yin could not help feeling a bit disappointed that she didn't manage to get any information of the information she wanted, but at the same time, she also felt that it wasn't certain that the Star Shattering Sect had a similar platform for those breaking trough to the Soul Ascension Realm.
After all, Shen Xuefeng was indeed someone who had just recently broken through to the Domain Lord Realm and it was normal that she wouldn't be aware of things pertaining to the Soul Ascension Realm before she began approaching the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm.
Not to mention, a platform that would be able to assist and contain the damage of someone breaking through to the Soul Ascension Realm would be an important treasure even inside a place like the Blue Sea Empire, it made sense why the Star Shattering Sect wouldn't just show it off to anyone who happened to enter their sect.
On the other hand, the fact that they showed off the platforms that helped their elders and disciples break through to the Nascent Soul Realm or Domain Lord Realm so openly was a show of strength on its own.
Well… Not just the platforms, the rich spiritual qi and the spiritual herbs on the Ninth Star Peak being shown so openly was also a clear show of the Star Shattering Sect's confidence and strength in itself.
Hearing Shen Xuefeng's response, Shu Yin could not help feeling a bit disappointed that she didn't manage to get any information of the information she wanted, but at the same time, she also felt that it wasn't certain that the Star Shattering Sect had a similar platform for those breaking trough to the Soul Ascension Realm.
I can't wait to see the main sect on the Seventh Star Peak!
Filled with even more anticipation as she thought about this, Shu Yin happily made her way up the path leading up to the Seventh Star Peak. Finally able to see what this sect looked like in person…
"Wow… "
It was only after she fully stepped onto the Seventh Star Peak that she realized that the Star Shattering Sect was far more terrifying than she had first imagined… And the reason for this, was that she just so happened to show up when Pei Yang was holding a public lecture for the Alchemy Elders of the sect. Allowing not just these alchemy elders to listen in, but also any disciple or elder interested in learning more about the Dao of Alchemy.
Of course, the main reason for Shu Yin's shock was not the fact that she witnessed an elder holding a lecture for a group of elders and disciples, but instead because she sensed the strength of the person holding the lecture.
Although she was not that familiar with those in the Earth Immortal Realm, she was certain that the person holding the lecture was someone who had reached the legendary Earth Immortal Realm… And not just that, but he seemed to be stronger than any of the Earth Immortals she had encountered so far during her travels across the continent.
The only existence surpassing this elder of the Star Shattering Sect being the strange stone construct she had seen slapping an Earth Immortal to death with a single wave of its hand.
In her mind, that stone construct had already far surpassed the level of the Earth Immortal Realm and entered the legendary Celestial Immortal Realm, so there wasn't really any comparison between it and the elder of the Star Shattering Sect in the Earth Immortal Realm.
Even then, hearing about the strength of the Star Shattering Sect and guessing how strong they might be from what she had managed to see so far was different from personally seeing an Earth Immortal Realm cultivator in the flesh.
No matter what, there was no comparison, as it solidified the strength of the Star Shattering Sect in her mind. Especially so considering that she had heard from some of the disciples and elders of the sect while walking around that this senior figure at the Earth Immortal Realm wasn't the strongest in the sect, but instead someone just like her, a wandering cultivator.
The only difference between her and this person was that the way he entered the sect was because a senior figure in the Star Shattering Sect had saved him and ended up recruiting him to join the sect afterwards.
She on the other hand had decided to try and enter the Star Shattering Sect on her own. First just to satisfy her curiosity about this mysterious sect that seemed completely out of place when compared to the surrounding powers, but now feeling more than motivated to join this powerful and mysterious sect.
Even if she didn't know a lot about the Star Shattering Sect given the short time she had spent in the sect's territory, she at least shared the positive look of the sect that had been created due to the Star Shattering Sect preferring to go with the more difficult route of absorbing the powers in the places it expanded into instead of the easier one that would just see them destroying any resisting powers.
Of course, the Star Shattering Sect wasn't entirely harmless so to speak, as no small number of powers and kingdoms had ended up being eradicate by it during its expansion, but it was ultimately true that far fewer people ended up dead compared to the normal expansion process of powers of similar size.
"Oh! It's senior Pei Yang! Hey, Shu Yin, do you want to stay and listen? Senior Pei Yang is a rather powerful senior and even if it's just about the Dao of Alchemy, I'm sure his lecture will still prove useful for someone like us in the Domain Lord Realm."
"Huh? I-I can stay and listen to the lecture!?" Suddenly hearing Shen Xuefeng calling out to her from the side and listening to what she said, Shu Yin could not help showing a look of disbelief on her face. Not believing that she would actually have a chance to listen to the lecture of a senior in the Earth Immortal Realm after entering the Star Shattering Sect for a brief look around the sect.
After all, the lecture of an Earth Immortal Realm cultivator was something incredibly precious and would normally never be given to any outsiders, but here Shen Xuefeng was telling her that she could just listen in on the lecture? How could Shu Yin not be shocked by something like that!
"Of course, come, let's find somewhere to sit!" Not seeing the shocked expression on the face of Shu Yin, Shen Xuefeng happily nodded her head after hearing what she thought of as agreement and dragged Shu Yin closer before finding somewhere to sit down and listen to Pei Yang's lecture.
Chapter 1392: Exploring the Star Shattering Sect (4)
Not knowing how to fight back against Shen Xuefeng and not really having anything against the chance to listen to the lecture of a powerful Earth Immortal Realm (Dao Seed Realm) Senior, Shu Yin obediently followed her before finding a place to sit down. Soon enough finding herself absorbed in the lecture, as she discovered that it wasn't just about the Dao of Alchemy, but also seemed to incorporate different concepts of how to comprehend the Dao. Proving to be useful even for those who didn't walk the path of comprehending the Dao of Alchemy.
No wonder so many elders in the Domain Lord Realm are present to listen to the lecture, it is not just useful to those proficient in alchemy but is also extremely useful to those in the process of increasing the strength of their domain!
As she thought about this, Shu Yin could not help feeling amazed by the skillful teaching done by Pei Yang, as his lecture seemed to incorporate several different elements that would be useful for different cultivators of different paths.
Outside of just being most useful to those alchemists, it was also useful to Domain Lord Realm cultivators like herself and even seemed to also carry some concepts that would be useful for those below the Domain Lord Realm to listen to.
All things considered, Shu Yin now understood why so many of the sect's elders had been so respectful when talking about Pei Yang, as he wasn't just a powerful Earth Immortal Realm (Dao Seed Realm) senior but was also incredible when it came to teaching.
Not just that, but from the bits of information about him that she had picked up along the way, it seemed that he was also incredibly passionate when it came to teaching, as he held at least one lecture a month, something that was unheard of to Shu Yin, as she understood doing something like that would essentially mean giving up the opportunity to enter a deeper state of cultivation.
In the end, this meant that this Pei Yang was passionate enough about teaching the younger generation that he would take a hit to his own cultivation speed as a result.
Of course, the main reason for this was the agreement he had with Xuan Hao, but there was no way Shu Yin would know about this.
Not to mention, even if his cultivation was affected to some extent by having to teach once every month, it was still far faster compared to before he joined the Star Shattering Sect. So, he didn't really mind it. Especially because he had seen hope of surpassing the Dao Seed Realm in the future after having stayed inside the Star Shattering Sect for a few years, something he had never dared dreaming off in the past…
Focusing her attention back on the lecture taking place, Shu Yin didn't dare wasting this opportunity, as two hours quickly flew by with her and Shen Xuefeng carefully listening to Pei Yang's lecture.
During this lecture, Shu Yin also managed to learn a few things that she hadn't learnt before, one of them being the Dao Seed Realm, as she finally found out that the Dao Seed Realm was another name for the Earth Immortal Realm.
Only difference being that the Dao Seed Realm seemed more ancient and was far stronger than the Earth Immortal Realm she knew about, as the Half Bloom Stage at the peak of the Earth Immortal Realm only seemed comparable to the Middle Stage of the Dao Seed Realm, something she managed to learn after trying to ask into the Dao Seed Realm following the end of the lecture.
Not just that, but she also managed to learn that reaching the Profound Immortal Realm that she had only ever heard about in rumors required one to first reach the Peak of the Dao Seed Realm, something that would normally be impossible following the current widespread knowledge of the realm.
Knowing about the existence of the Dao Seed Realm, Shu Yin also realized why she had never seen or heard of anyone in the Profound Immortal Realm and had only found legends or ancient rumors about their existence in the past.
Not knowing about the Dao Seed Realm, anyone who reached the Peak of the Earth Immortal Realm, the Half Bloom Stage, would try and break through to the Celestial Immortal Realm, something that would inevitably cut them off the path to the Profound Immortal Realm.
If any of the major powers in the central part of the continent knew about this… They could have sealed the information to prevent anyone else from reaching the Profound Immortal Realm. Only ever giving Celestial Immortals a chance to rise up, while preventing any other Profound Immortals from emerging!
Though she didn't know about the difference between the Celestial Immortal Realm and the Profound Immortal Realm, it was clear to her that the Profound Immortal Realm was superior to the Celestial Immortal Realm in some way. Even if she had no idea how, she guessed that it was because of this superiority that some Profound Immortal Realm Cultivators might have the chance to suppress any Celestial Immortals that would emerge, either killing or recruiting them…
"Come on, let's take a look at the Combat Hall next!"
"Ah? Ah! Y-Yes!"
As she was lost in her own thoughts thinking about things far beyond her own realm of strength after learning about the existence of the Dao Seed Realm and what it actually symbolized when compared to the Earth Immortal Realm that seemed to be something that had been artificially created to hide the existence of the Dao Seed Realm, Shu Yin was suddenly brought back to reality by the voice of Shen Xuefeng calling out to her.
Not wanting to come off as weird or anything for being absorbed in her own world, she decided to do her best to hide her surprise, something that didn't really end up working… Before she followed Shen Xuefeng to the Combat Hall.
Chapter 1393: Exploring the Star Shattering Sect (5)
Following Shen Xuefeng to the Combat Hall without really knowing anything about the Combat Hall and what it was, Shu Yin could not help asking about the place as they got closer. Only to end up even more shocked than before after hearing about what the Combat Hall was and what it was used for.
A training ground that could simulate different environments and could even be used by someone in the Soul Ascension Realm. Possibly even someone stronger than that!
Just this alone was more than enough to show that the Star Shattering Sect had someone profoundly skilled in both the Dao of Formations and the Dao of Space, as creating the independent spaces with unique environments that could be used for training certain special technique was not something one could do without a certain comprehension of the Dao of Space.
Of course, this was not to mention that it was more than just a single independent space that had been created and attached to the Combat Hall itself.
Although the spaces themselves, even put together, were smaller than a secret realm that could be created by someone at the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm with enough resources, it was far more complicated than a secret realm, as it involved more than just a single space. Instead, having at least a few hundred different independent training spaces, that could be changed according to what Shen Xuefeng told her.
Filled with excitement at seeing such an awesome and magical thing in person, Shu Yin didn't forget to also ask if it would be possible for her to enter the Combat Hall and check it out for herself.
Luckily, it wasn't that much of a problem, as most of the sect's elders and disciples were busy with the upcoming competition, causing the Combat Hall to be far more desolate compared to its normal fully occupied state.
In turn, Shu Yin soon found herself inside the Combat Hall together with Shen Xuefeng… And taking advantage of the opportunity, she also ended up spending some time fighting with Shen Xuefeng, who was more than happy to get a chance at fighting someone at the Later Stages of the Domain Lord Realm.
Both of them getting the opportunity to gauge out how strong each of them was… And although Shu Yin won the battle to no one's surprise, she was still pushed far more than she had expected for someone at the Second Stage of the Domain Lord Realm.
To Shu Yin, this proved the strength of the Star Shattering Sect when it came to teaching their younger generation, as it was obvious that Domain Lord Realm cultivators from the Star Shattering Sect would be stronger than someone like her who was essentially self-taught.
At the same time, it also made Shu Yin excited about the prospect of joining the Star Shattering Sect in the future, as it was clear that they were good at training their Domain Lord Realm cultivators. Especially because she managed to learn from Shen Xuefeng during their duel that she had learnt most of what she knew regarding the Domain Lord Realm from the Star Shattering Sect and the library of the sect.
But… It seems like it won't be that simple for someone like me to join a powerful sect like the Star Shattering Sect…
Of course, together with her feeling even more excited about joining the Star Shattering Sect, she also realized that it shouldn't be that easy for her to join such a powerful sect.
The only reason why she felt like she still had a good opportunity to join the sect was because she had managed to enter the sect and get a tour around the sect under the guidance of someone, she presumed to be a junior elder of the sect. Meaning that they at least considered her as someone with the potential to join the sect.
Of course, potential didn't mean that she would definitely end up joining the sect. Instead, it was likely that she was already being observed by the senior members of the Star Shattering Sect, who would then determine whether or not she would be worthy of joining the sect.
Swish-!
As she thought about this, Shu Yin instantly straightened her back and stood upright. Doing her best to show off her best behavior as she followed a now rather confused Shen Xuefeng out of the Combat Hall.
The sudden change in expression in this older wandering cultivator was really not something Shen Xuefeng could get used to, as she seemed to be constantly changing in the way she presented herself or acted.
First filled with curiosity, then fearful and awed at the strength of the Star Shattering Sect… And then her current professional demeanor.
Shen Xuefeng began wondering what kind of expression and attitude this older wandering cultivator would end up having later on and even started looking forward to it, as she began walking in the direction of the sect's inner court where the courtyards and buildings belonging to the more senior members of the sect were located.
Not just because it would be the home of this strange wandering cultivator if she ended up joining the sect, but also because Elder Song had just contacted her a short time earlier and informed her that he would like to meet with this rather strange older wandering cultivator.
Given that he wanted to meet her, Shen Xuefeng was more than happy to bring her over. Knowing that the upcoming meeting with Elder Song would likely end up determining whether this older wandering cultivator called Shu Yin would join the Star Shattering Sect or if she would have to leave the sect without getting the opportunity to see some of the other important locations of the sect.
Although weird, Shen Xuefeng did hope that she would join the sect, as there was indeed a lack in stronger Domain Lord Realm cultivators in the sect and she really did benefit from their little spar earlier.
Chapter 1394: Meeting Elder Song and Life of Shu Yin
Finding herself in front of Elder Song after a few minutes walking into the core of the Star Shattering Sect, Shu Yin could not help feeling a bit surprised, when she learnt that he was actually the Vice Sect Master of the sect.
The main reason for this surprise being that the Vice Sect Master would normally be one of the strongest cultivators in the sect, but Elder Song was still in the Nascent Soul Realm.
Not to mention him being among the strongest of the Star Shattering Sect, he was still far from the few Domain Lord Realm cultivators she had run into during her time inside the Star Shattering Sect.
"Elder Song is an important person of the sect and is also the sole person in charge of the sect's internal management, his current position was given because of how excellent he is when it comes to managing the sect. Not so much because of his strength."
Seeing the clearly confused expression on Shu Yin's face upon realizing that Elder Song was only in the Nascent Soul Realm, Shen Xuefeng quickly jumped in to explain, something that had become rather normal considering that most of the wandering cultivators wanting to join the sect ended up meeting with Elder Song at some point and would show a similarly confused expression.
It wasn't that surprising considering that higher positions like Vice Sect Master, Sect Master, Core Elders and so on were normally held by the strongest experts of the sect. Not like the Star Shattering Sect where the Vice Sect Master position had essentially turned into a sect management position that didn't really care about the strength of the person holding down the position.
Then again, this was mainly because of Elder Song, as the position had been left to him so he could continue doing what he did best without any problems and continue to help increase the strength of the sect like he had done so far.
In a sense, it was also because he was incredibly good at his work and the rest of the sect elders knew about how hard he was working that nobody really complained about him being the Vice Sect Master. Especially so because none of them dared even think about taking on the workload he allocated to the position itself.
"I see…" Nodding her head in understanding after hearing what Shen Xuefeng said, Shu Yin slowly found a place to sit down before Shen Xuefeng introduced her to Elder Song and they began discussing the matter of her joining the Star Shattering Sect.
Even if Elder Song really did want to have someone of her strength level join the sect right away, he still had to make sure that she wouldn't end up causing any problems for the sect in the future.
Slowly, a few hours flew by with Shen Xuefeng silently standing on the side and listening to the two of them as they talked about Shu Yin's past and her reason for wanting to join the Star Shattering Sect.
In the end, she and Elder Song ended up learning a lot about Shu Yin.
Before cultivating, Shu Yin was a normal village girl living on the eastern side of the continent that was home to several large Buddhist temples. From there, she had originally been fine with living a normal life, but an arranged marriage was suddenly forced upon her by some local noble son and she decided to flee her home to avoid the marriage, thus starting her journey of wandering the continent.
The first few years, she was just a normal mortal without cultivation, that was, until she stumbled on an ancient cave dwelling of a long dead Domain Lord Realm cultivator. Finding a suitable cultivation mantra and a large number of resources. Allowing her to take her first step onto the path of cultivation.
Of course, knowing that the treasures of a Domain Lord Realm cultivator might attract unwanted attention, she ended up spending the next two hundred and fifty years in secluded cultivation inside the cave and only dared venturing out of the cave when the resources were running out and her cultivation had reached the Peak of the Core Formation Realm.
Next on, she officially began journeying across the continent as a wandering cultivator. Encountering all sorts of opportunities and deadly situations that ultimately helped push her to understand more about the world around her, while at the same time aiding her cultivation.
In the end, she managed to successfully step into the Domain Lord Realm just when her lifespan was about to reach its end. Allowing her to transcend the normal level of wandering cultivator and start moving away from the eastern part of the continent and even visit the core region of the continent.
Of course, her strength was far from enough to wander around the core region of the continent and after witnessing a battle between two Earth Immortal Realm cultivators, she ultimately decided against entering the core region and instead spent most of her time exploring different ancient sites to further her cultivation.
At first, she had hoped that she would be able to reach the Soul Ascension Realm by continuing to explore like this, but after she broke through to the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm at the age of 5000, she ran into a wall that she couldn't cross no matter how hard she tried… And over the next four thousand years, her cultivation barely improved. Only recently breaking through to the Eighth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm.
Although her strength was impressive and she was already close to the Soul Ascension Realm at this point in time, her slow cultivation speed after stepping into the Later Stages of the Domain Lord Realm made it clear to her that she wouldn't be able to break through to the Soul Ascension Realm by cultivating while wandering the continent like she had done so far, as she had less than a thousand years left to live at this point in time.
Starting to feel the desperation that all cultivators about to reach the end of their lifespan felt, she ended up wandering into some more dangerous areas in search of opportunities and found herself falling into far more deadly situations over the past hundred years than what she had experienced during the 9000 years before that.
In the end, it was also this that had caused her to end up inside the territory of the Star Shattering Sect after having ended up passing through some kind of ancient teleportation formation.
As of now, she was 9156 years old and at the Eighth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm and most important of all to Elder Song, she was a wandering cultivator that didn't get involved with any other powers during her time wandering across the continent. Outside of the explorer union that was unavailable to most wandering cultivators.
Even if her age was a bit worrying as she was already close to reaching the end up her lifespan if she couldn't break through to the Soul Ascension Realm, Elder Song didn't really feel that worried about it, as she still had a little under 900 years left to live.
Helped by the resources of the Star Shattering Sect and with the guidance of someone like Pei Yang or Xuan Hao, she stood a good chance of being able to reach the Soul Ascension Realm. Especially considering the existence of the Dao Enlightenment Monument that was incredibly useful for anyone in the Domain Lord Realm.
Even if she didn't get any help from Xuan Hao or Pei Yang in her cultivation, with the rich cultivation environment of the sect and the Dao Enlightenment Monument, Elder Song felt that she would still stand a good chance of reaching the Soul Ascension Realm and possibly even the Dao Seed Realm in the future.
"Hm… I will do a more in depth look into your situation and determine the accuracy of what you said with the explorer union, but if there is nothing wrong, I can confidently say that you are more than welcome to join the Star Shattering Sect. Of course, starting as a guest elder before officially becoming an elder in the future."
As he thought about everything, Elder Song slowly nodded his head before saying this. Agreeing to have Shu Yin join the sect, as there seemed to be nothing wrong with what she told him about her past.
Of course, it would still have to be confirmed through the explorer union first, but he didn't feel like there would be any problems in this regard, as Shu Yin had used the explorer union a lot according to herself. Meaning that they should have information on her as long as they paid the price.
So for now, Shu Yin was granted a temporary residence inside the sect until everything was sorted out and she could officially join the sect as a guest elder with the chance to become a real elder.
Chapter 1395: Becoming Part of the Star Shattering Sect
Following Shu Yin joining the Star Shattering Sect as a guest elder and a general investigation into her background through the explorer union was completed, she soon moved into the Star Shattering Sect and wasted no time in taking advantage of the resources of the Star Shattering Sect to increase her own strength. Soon enough finding out about the Dao Enlightenment Monument as a result and finding out the importance of contribution points, that ultimately ended up with her finding herself in the Grand Mission Pavilion in search of mission to complete for contribution points.
Shu Yin understood very well that she didn't have any time to waste if she wanted to reach the Soul Ascension Realm before her lifespan ran out and the Dao Enlightenment Monument just so happened to provide the opportunity, she needed to make it possible to ascend to the Soul Ascension Realm before her lifespan ran out.
In turn, she searched for the missions that were normally too dangerous or exhausting that had been avoided by other elders of the sect. Not caring about anything other than gathering as many contribution points as possible so she could enter the hall of the grand library where the Dao Enlightenment Monument was located.
Luckily for her, outside of there being a lot of difficult missions for her to deal with, there were also some that only involved her training with and teaching some of the newer Domain Lord Realm cultivators of the sect.
Considering that these missions had been specially arranged for her by Elder Song, the contribution points for completing these relatively easy missions far surpassed that of most other missions. Resulting in Shu Yin taking on these missions without a second thought. Only believing that she was lucky that none of the sect's stronger cultivators had picked up the missions before her.
Still unclear about the true strength of the Star Shattering Sect even after having joined the sect, Shu Yin still believed that there were still a lot of powerful cultivators far stronger than her present inside the sect… And although she wasn't wrong that there were far more powerful cultivators present in the Star Shattering Sect compared to her, their numbers were far below what she believed.
As for why these powerful cultivators were not present on the Seventh Star Peak… That was because they were simply on one of the other Star Peaks, like the Second Star Peak or the Main Peak.
Unknowingly, the closed off nature of the Second and Main Star Peak had caused Shu Yin to associate these two locations with the ancestors and stronger elders of the sect, as they did in a sense resemble the ancient forbidden grounds that she was familiar with in different major kingdoms or sects she had encountered in the past. Locations where the peak cultivators of said powers resided and that were normally closed off to the rest of the sect and the disciples.
Shu Yin was not the only one with these thoughts, as some of the newer disciples thought of things the same way when the Main Star Peak or the Second Star Peak was mentioned, as the chaotic qi formation was still present on these two mountain peaks and seemingly stopped anyone from approaching them.
Only Feng Chen, Elder Song and a few of the other elders knew that there was nothing like that on those two mountain peaks and they had instead been closed off by Xuan Hao due to the inherent danger of the two mountain peaks.
However, given that the mysteriousness of the two mountain peaks didn't harm the Star Shattering Sect and instead just made it seem stronger, Feng Chen and the rest didn't clarify anything regarding the two mountain peaks, as it would also serve as an invisible pressure on anyone who might harbor thoughts of betraying the Star Shattering Sect in the future.
Although the matter of a possible betrayal from disciples and elders of the sect hadn't happened so far, it was always good to be prepared… And if the two mountain peaks remained unknown and was even rumored to be the true core of the Star Shattering Sect where even stronger experts resided, it would make anyone thinking of attacking the Star Shattering Sect hesitate or even give up any thoughts of attacking the sect.
If the two mountain peaks could be turned into real forbidden grounds for the sect in the future, that would be even better, but after floating this idea to Xuan Hao, they were quickly shot down.
Although the Main Star Peak could be considered a good place to move the Star Shattering Sect, it was ultimately still far too dangerous to move the sect there. Even more so because the independent world created on the Main Star Peak also seemed to be connected to different locations outside the Shattered Star Peaks.
Even though he had only encountered one such situation so far, Xuan Hao didn't dare underestimate the danger of the Main Star Peak and the possibility of more such connections and passages existing somewhere on the Main Star Peak. The ancient battlefield that had been connected to the Main Star Peak was more than enough for him to not dare think about moving the Star Shattering Sect there…
"First up… Teaching a group of newly ascended Domain Lord Realm Elders!"
Oblivious to any of this, Shu Yin happily embraced her new life, as she took on her first mission since becoming a part of the Star Shattering Sect. Teaching a group of Domain Lord Realm Elders who had just recently managed to break through to the Domain Lord Realm.
Not something difficult considering her cultivation realm at the Eighth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, what's more, completing this mission would give her enough contribution points to visit the Dao Enlightenment Monument for the first time.
So, without any flaws, she intended to perfectly complete this mission and make sure that this group of newly ascended Domain Lord Realm Elders of the Star Shattering Sect would be satisfied with her teaching and learnt a lot about the Domain Lord Realm from her.
Although she might never have been a teacher before and had spent most of her time running around the continent exploring different ancient realms and ruins, it didn't mean that she was completely unaware of how to teach others.
On the other hand, due to her long life and vast knowledge of the Domain Lord Realm stemming from her long time in the Domain Lord Realm, she would be far better than most other Domain Lord Realm cultivators when it came to teaching others about the Domain Lord Realm.
At least it was so for the earlier and middle stages of the realm, her understanding of the later stages and peak of the realm was still blurry, as she herself was still in the Later Stages of the Domain Lord Realm and had not yet managed to reach the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm.
Even then, it wasn't really needed in this situation, as the people she would be teaching were in the earlier stages of the Domain Lord Realm. Not the Later Stages of the Domain Lord Realm, something she was more than confident in teaching.
…
"Hm? Another new Domain Lord Realm cultivator joined the sect? And this one… Eighth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm…?"
At the same time that Shu Yin finished taking on her first mission from the mission pavilion and began preparing herself for teaching the group of newly ascended Domain Lord Realm cultivators, Xuan Hao, who had sealed himself off on the Eighth Star Peak to research the ancient teleportation formation, opened his eyes with a somewhat surprised expression on his face after noticing this new and powerful presence inside the sect.
Although it wasn't that strange considering that the Star Shattering Sect had welcomed no small number of Domain Lord Realm cultivators following the strength of the sect in the eyes of the outside world reaching a similar level as a small empire, it was the first time that a Domain Lord Realm cultivator in the Later Stages of the realm had decided to join the sect, something that ended up drawing Xuan Hao's attention.
Of course, it was only drawing his attention for a brief moment before he returned his focus back to the ancient teleportation formation. Continuing to deepen his insights into the Dao of Formations, while analyzing how to improve the prototype teleportation formation that he had constructed.
In the end, a Late Stage Domain Lord Realm cultivator, although important to the development of the Star Shattering Sect, wouldn't be able to cause much trouble in the current Star Shattering Sect.
Even without him around, Pei Yang should still be able to deal with them if they caused any problems.
Maybe even Feng Chen would be able to deal with him following his recent improvement in strength and the fact that he was stronger in combat compared to an ordinary Domain Lord Realm cultivator due to him being a sword cultivator.
Chapter 1396: Failed Plan
As a few days flew by following Shu Yin joining the Star Shattering Sect, Xuan Hao could not help stopping his continued research of the ancient teleportation formation. Not because he had run into any problems, but more so because he still hadn't heard anything about the Blue Sea Empire mobilizing their Celestial Immortal Realm Ancestors.
Although a few days or even a week or two of delay was fine considering he didn't know if the overconfident ancestor from the Blue Sea Empire would end up being delayed by demonic cultivators while moving through the Frozen Wasteland, it had now been around a month since he had sold the information about the space node stone mine and the ancestor of the Blue Sea Empire left to investigate the mine in person.
At this point in time, the Demon King Realm demonic cultivator who should be behind the space node stone mine should have clashed with the ancestor of the Blue Sea Empire, causing the ancestor from the Blue Sea Empire to fall into a difficult situation that would force him to call for help.
However, if that was the case, there should have been some kind of reaction from the Blue Sea Empire, something that hadn't happened yet.
Unless… The space node stone mine was not under the control of a Demon King Realm demonic cultivator, but was instead under the combined control of those two Demon Lord Realm demonic cultivators, but… If that was the case, where would those people transporting the space node stones be going? To A third Demon Lord Realm demonic cultivator inside the Frozen Wasteland?
Frowning as he thought about this, Xuan Hao couldn't figure out what had ended up happening to cause the situation to turn out in an unexpected way.
In the end. Not knowing what to do about this situation as his plot to weaken the Blue Sea Empire seemed to have failed, Xuan Hao decided to contact Xuan Gui and see if she had heard anything about something major happening inside the Frozen Wasteland.
Following which he ended up learning that something had indeed ended up happening inside the Frozen Wastelands that caused a major upheaval lasting for a few days. Unfortunately, she didn't have any clue about what had happened, as the information was sealed by one of the stronger Demon Kings in the Frozen Wastelands.
Although this didn't provide Xuan Hao with a lot of information about what had happened, he at least became certain that the Demon King Realm demonic cultivator and the ancestor of the Blue Sea Empire should have clashed with each other like he had first planned.
However, from the reaction of the demonic cultivators, it seemed like things didn't end up playing out like he had expected. Meaning that the ancestor of the Blue Sea Empire had likely managed to safely escape from the demonic cultivators.
Not just that, but from the reaction of the demonic cultivator, it seemed like they had suffered significantly to this ancestor of the Blue Sea Empire.
From what Xuan Hao could guess, it should be the Demon King Realm demonic cultivator who owned the space node stone mine that had somehow ended up being injured by the ancestor of the Blue Sea Empire before the other party had managed to run away.
Considering that the ancestor from the Blue Sea Empire had managed to comprehend the Dao of Space close to the Large Success Realm, Xuan Hao felt that he should have had a chance at escaping if he managed to injure his opponent.
The only thing was… To do something like that, he would have to be far stronger than a normal Celestial Immortal Realm cultivator. Especially considering that the Demon King Realm demonic cultivator should have been prepared for the other party using the Dao of Space, as he himself had used the Dao of Space when stealing from the space node stone mine earlier.
"Guess that ancestor does have something to back up his confidence…" Muttering this to himself, Xuan Hao shook his head somewhat regretfully while looking towards the Frozen Wasteland in the distance.
Although his plan to weaken the Blue Sea Empire had ended up failing, he had at least succeeded in the secondary purpose of the plan and that was to ensure that neither the demonic cultivators or the Blue Sea Empire would be able to mine the space node stone mine.
Considering that both parties now knew about the existence of the mine, neither of them would allow the other to peacefully mine it.
Even though the mine itself was closer to the Frozen Wasteland, it was ultimately still outside it and would be difficult to defend without a Demon King permanently stationed there to defend it… And considering the war that was playing out at the moment between not just the Frozen Wasteland and the Blue Sea Empire, but between the core region and the demonic cultivators, neither could afford having any of their peak expert's stationed to defend a single mine.
In the end, the space node stone mine would likely end up falling to the backburner as the war played out, with both parties deciding to take control of the mine after the war came to an end or one of them became too weak to continue threatening the other. Giving one of the two a chance to mine it.
The reason why Xuan Hao wanted to see something like that happening was rather simple, as he himself didn't want to give up on the space node stone mine either, it was simply far too important when it came to the future expansion of the Star Shattering Sect and getting a functioning network of teleportation formations up and running.
Not just that, but also for practice so that the sect could nurture others outside of him who could lay down teleportation formations in the future.
The delay that would be created by the Blue Sea Empire and the Frozen Wasteland halting their mining of the space node stone mine would give him and the Star Shattering Sect a chance to grow stronger and possibly contend with them for the space node stone mine in the future.
Considering that the last war between demonic cultivators and the cultivators from the core region had lasted for over a thousand years, it wasn't out of the question for the Star Shattering Sect to grow to become a major power before the war ended. The main thing that could prevent something like that happening would be if the Star Shattering Sect ended up getting drawn into the war.
Even though the sect had been drawn into the war to some extend with the constant attack of demonic cultivators along the borders of the sect, it wasn't a real attack and was just a result of Frozen Wastelands sending out the weaker demonic cultivators to test the different powers bordering the Frozen Wastelands.
If it was a real attack, it wouldn't just be a few True Demon Realm and Demon Lord Realm demonic cultivators showing up but would instead be those terrifying demons at the Demon King Realm showing up!
For this reason, Xuan Hao also treasured his relationship with Xuan Gui, as she essentially served as an early warning system for the Star Shattering Sect in case the demonic cultivators decided to take their attack on the kingdoms around the Star Shattering Sect more serious than they had so far.
Luckily, at the moment, the strongest demonic cultivators that the Star Shattering Sect had to deal with were demonic cultivators in the True Demon Realm, equivalent to someone in the Soul Ascension Realm.
The winged lion demon beast had been more than enough to deal with any of them that came so far. Even managing to make large strides forward in its cultivation, as it was now close to reaching the Second Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm.
The main reason for the rapid progress being that eating the demonic cultivators proved to be a good way for it to improve, as the strong bodies of the demonic cultivators were filled with a strong vitality and powerful blood energy far surpassing normal cultivators and even equally powerful demon beasts.
In a sense, the corpses of demonic cultivators were perfect for feeding demon beasts as long as the strong demonic qi or yin qi inside their bodies were cleaned out first, something that the beast tamers of the sect had already started experimenting with, as they needed to find something to make up for the reduced budget following Elder Song cracking down on their wasteful usage of spirit stones.
Luckily for them, the Star Shattering Sect didn't really have any use for the bodies of the demonic cultivators, so they were allowed to make full use of them and feed them to the demon beast after the dangerous qi inside of them was purged or cleaned.
In a way, the beast tamers making use of the demonic cultivator bodies did also help the Star Shattering Sect in cleaning up the areas where battles with demonic cultivators had happened. Turning the beast tamers into some of the most effective battlefield cleaners ever seen in the eyes of both the elders and disciples of the sect…
Chapter 1397: Negatives of Eating Dead Demonic Cultivators
Shaking his head at the thought of the beast tamers that had turned into corpse collectors after realizing how useful the bodies of demonic cultivators were for nurturing demon beasts; Xuan Hao could not help wondering if he should advise Elder Song to place a few more restrictions on these beast tamers.
After all, even if their use of demonic cultivator's bodies didn't really use any of the sect's resources and instead saved the sect quite a few spirit stones that would have normally been used to feed the demon beasts, it might end up making others think that the Star Shattering Sect was some kind of demonic sect. Making them a target for the Blue Sea Empire and the other major powers from the core region of the continent.
At the very least, the beast tamers had to find a way to not attract any unwanted attention when they went out to clean up the battlefield…
"Haaa… Whenever it seems like they are about to settle down, they find another way to create problems…" Muttering this to himself as he thought about the beast tamers creating yet another problem for the sect, Xuan Hao couldn't help letting out a somewhat helpless sigh.
Although it wasn't him who would have to deal with this problem, he still felt for Elder Song and Feng Chen, who would be the ones to deal with these troublesome beast tamers once again.
Even more so because the situation of the beast tamers seemed to have just recently been resolved, as they settled down and got used to their new situation.
However, he wasn't really one to blame them, as the bodies of the demonic cultivators did indeed bring enormous benefits to the Star Shattering Sect and wasn't something that would be easy to give up.
"I will just leave this matter for Elder Song and Feng Chen to deal with, both of them should already be aware of the potential problems that might emerge if information of the sect using the dead bodies of the demonic cultivators gets out- Hm?" About to focus his attention back on the ancient teleportation formation to continue what he had been doing so far, Xuan Hao suddenly noticed a change in his status.
More specifically, a change in the status of one of his pets, the winged lion demon beast, that seemed to have just broken through to the Second Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm.
"Guess I will go and take a look and see how that lazy little lion is doing, it has after all been quite some time since I last saw it."
Curious about the state of his little pet, as it wasn't without risk to undergo the tribulation and ascend through the Soul Ascension Realm, Xuan Hao decided to take a break from comprehending the ancient teleportation formation and decided to leave the Eighth Star Peak to head for the border territory that the winged lion demon beast was currently protecting from any True Demon Realm demonic cultivators who might try and enter the territory of the Star Shattering Sect.
Considering that the Blue Sea Empire was still present in the Onyx Empire and showed no intention of leaving and the barrier he had created in the past and prior agreement with Xuan Gui kept any demon beasts from invading the Star Shattering Sect's territory along two of their closest borders with the Frozen Wasteland, there was only a single border to defend for the Star Shattering Sect.
In turn, it made it rather simple for Xuan Hao to guess where the winged lion demon beast had broken through to the Second Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm.
Even though… He did feel a bit confused as to why the winged lion demon beast had decided to breakthrough at the border instead of returning to the sect where it was far safer for it to breakthrough.
After all, at the border, it still had to worry about potentially being attacked or ambushed by powerful demonic cultivators during or after its breakthrough.
The only reason Xuan Hao could think of that might have caused the winged lion demon beast to breakthrough at the border instead of back in the sect, would be because the breakthrough had been unexpected and not something that the winged lion demon beast had even thought would happen.
But for something like that to be the case, it would have had to either have consumed- Ah…
Suddenly realizing what might have happened to his little lazy lion, as he thought about how eating demonic cultivators seemed extremely beneficial to demon beasts, Xuan Hao decided not to delay, as he directly used his Dao of space to twist the space around him. Using long distance teleportation to cross the distance between the Shattered Star Peaks and the borders of the sect's territory in a few minutes. Most of the time being spent activating the long-distance teleportation technique.
The reason for rushing over being that he feared that the little lion might have become so overcome by greed that it forgot to get rid of the demonic qi or yin qi that might be in the body that it had consumed to reach the Second Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Relam…
ROOOOAR-!
And, like he had feared, the situation of the winged lion demon beast was far from good when he appeared, as it was currently roaring mindlessly while killing anything in sight without caring if they were demonic cultivators or not.
Luckily, it wasn't close to anyone from the Star Shattering Sect at the moment… And on the not so lucky side of things, a few wandering cultivators and what he guessed to be members of the explorer union happened to be nearby. Dying before he had a chance to interfere with the now rampaging winged lion demon beast that seemed to have lost its mind after absorbing a large quantity of demonic qi.
All Xuan Hao could do was light a joss stick for the unlucky group of people before stepping forward to deal with the winged lion demon beast before it ended up causing even more damage than it already had.
Chapter 1398: Helping Heal the Little Lion~
Roar! Roar! Roooar!
Continuing to roar angrily at no one in particular, the winged lion demon beast continued to rampage and destroy everything around it. Killing and biting into even weak demon beasts at the Qi Condensation Realm before swallowing them whole, something that was highly unusual considering just how little help devouring such weak demon beasts would provide to the winged lion demon beast.
Then again… The current winged lion demon beast wasn't in the right state of mind, as it was overcome by the large quantity of demonic qi that it had ended up accidentally absorbing not long ago.
Whoosh~
BANG!
Arriving in front of the winged lion demon beast in such a state, Xuan Hao didn't bother playing nice, as he directly slapped it to the ground to stop it from causing any more problems. Flattening a small mountain by accident, as the winged lion demon beast stopped moving and instead looked up at the small figure that had appeared above it filled with fear.
Although it was driven to madness by the demon qi that it had absorbed, it looked like it could still feel fear when faced with a much stronger opponent. Showing that the winged lion demon beast hadn't gone completely mad and could still be saved before it ended up becoming no different from a demonic cultivator who lost their mind.
Even then… Xuan Hao felt like he shouldn't help the winged lion demon beast get rid of the demonic qi coursing through its body too fast… First… He had to teach this little pet of his that it couldn't just eat anything that happened to be filled with a strong vitality…
BANG! Bang! Bang!
Because of this, Xuan Hao made sure to beat up this rebellious little pet to make sure that it understood the pain that would come if it chose to devour the dead bodies of demonic cultivators without first making sure that it was safe to do so.
R-Roooar!?
Soon enough, earning a rather pitiful cry from the winged demon beast, who was being beaten senseless by its master, who had chosen a rather barbaric method of forcibly helping it refine the demonic qi inside of its body through said beating.
R-R-Roar…
In the end, after close to half an hour of being beaten by its master, the winged lion demon beast returned to normal, as the demonic qi that had been coursing through its body earlier had been fully refined and used to stabilize its foundation at the Second Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm.
Well… the demonic qi had been fully refined after twenty or so minutes, but Xuan Hao had decided to help this dumb lion with wings stabilize its foundation by showing it a bit extra love and care.
Even if the winged lion demon beast wanted to protest against its master for using such barbaric methods, there was nothing much it could do about it, as it understood that it was indeed at fault this time around. Having recklessly devoured the body of a demonic cultivator far stronger than any demonic cultivator that it had encountered so far because it had sensed that its strength would improve by a lot after doing so…
After the situation calmed down and the winged lion demon beast was given the opportunity to retreat back to the sect to recover from the love and care that its master had shown when helping it stabilize its cultivation base and refine the demonic qi that it had failed to personally refine, Xuan Hao didn't leave immediately, but instead decided to take a look at the dead demonic cultivator that the winged lion demon beast had ended up being unable to stop itself from eating.
According to the winged lion demon beast, it had only nibbed off a bit of that demonic cultivator's leg before it broke through to the Second Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm and went mad due to the large amount of demonic qi contained inside the little bit of the corpse that it had ended up eating.
With that in mind, it was clear that this demonic cultivator was far more powerful than Xuan Hao had first expected when learning about what had happened to his little pet.
After all, this was still the border of the Star Shattering Sect and the strength of the demonic cultivators dying here were only between the Qi Condensation and Domain Lord Realm, with a few True Demon Realm demonic cultivators comparable to the Soul Ascension Realm dying to the winged lion demon beast every now and then.
But… From the explanation of the winged lion demon beast, it seemed like the corpse it had eaten from was not the body of a fallen True Demon Realm demonic cultivator that it had killed, but instead the body of a far stronger demonic cultivator.
Given that only nibbling a bit at the leg of this demonic cultivator had caused the winged lion demon beast to break through to the Second Stage of the Soul Ascension Realm, it was clear that this dead demonic cultivator had been far stronger than any of the demonic cultivators that attempted to enter the Star Shattering Sect's territory in the past.
Demon Lord Realm at the very least. Possibly even stronger than that!
No matter what, Xuan Hao understood that it was important for him to investigate this matter and get to the bottom of it. Especially so because such a powerful demonic cultivator had ended up dying. Leading to the question of who had killed him.
To kill such a powerful demonic cultivator inside the territory of the Star Shattering Sect and to do so without leaving any traces of such a battle in the first place, it was likely that the strength of the person who killed the demonic cultivator far exceeded the demonic cultivator. Leading to a situation where the powerful demonic cultivator had been killed without being able to fight back.
If it was Demon Lord Realm demonic cultivator, that would be understandable and expected to some extent, as a Celestial Immortal from the Blue Sea Empire might have passed through and killed him, but… If the demonic cultivator was above the Demon Lord Realm…
Chapter 1399: Gone...?
Arriving at the location where the winged lion demon beast had found the dead demonic cultivator that ended up causing it to lose control, Xuan Hao was surprised to discover that the massive body described by the winged lion demon beast was nowhere to be found. All he could see was the impact on the ground where the body should have landed in the past along with the residual demonic qi floating around the place.
Although this made it difficult for him to determine the strength of the demonic cultivator who had been killed, it was not impossible, and he could at least confirm from this that the person who had killed this demonic cultivator should have returned to take the body with him or her.
As for why the body had been left around for long enough that the winged lion demon beast could discover and take a bite out of it, Xuan Hao had no idea, but he did guess that it should be because the one who killed the demonic cultivator should have been busy and couldn't take the dead body immediately.
Unfortunately, there was no way for him to determine whether or not this was the truth, as there were no signs left for him to follow in regard to what had happened to the massive demonic cultivator corpse that the winged lion demon beast had taken a few bites out of.
The only thing he could do for now was find a place to sit down before closely examining the traces that had been left behind in an attempt to determine the strength of the demonic cultivator who had died.
Luckily, this was not that difficult for him to do, as he discovered that the power left behind by the demonic cultivator hadn't degraded in the slightest bit. Allowing him to determine the strength of the demonic cultivator.
The problem was… The strength of the demonic cultivator who had ended up falling was definitely above the Demon Lord Realm. Reaching the Demon King Realm, something he could tell with relative ease given his familiarity with Xuan Gui at the Peak of the Demon Lord Realm and his previous encounter with a Celestial Immortal Realm Ancestor from the Blue Sea Empire. Not to mention the fight between Celestial Immortals and Demon Kings he had witnessed at the border of the Frozen Wasteland.
Knowing this, Xuan Hao felt uneasy for a very obvious reason, as he began wondering what in the world had happened for a dead Demon King Realm demonic cultivator to suddenly end up inside the territory of the Star Shattering Sect. Especially because the war between the cultivators in the core region of the continent and the demonic cultivators didn't seem to have escalated to the extent where the Demon Kings and Celestial Immortals fought to the death like this.
Even more troubling was the fact that the body had ended up inside the territory of the Star Shattering Sect. Indicating that the battle where this demonic cultivator had ended up dying had taken place not far away from the Star Shattering Sect, yet, he had not sensed anything.
A Demon King Realm demonic cultivator died without me noticing anything and the one who did it was preoccupied by something and didn't immediately take away the body… And I didn't notice whatever is preoccupying the killer of this demonic cultivator either…
Lost in thought as he thought about this, Xuan Hao could not help frowning to himself as he felt that the current situation was far from normal. Difficult to understand, as he should have at least sensed something with his current strength. Even more so considering that his high comprehension of the Dao of Space made him far more sensitive to any changes in the space around him. Making him better at sensing a higher level battle that would inevitably affect the stability of space than even someone in the Celestial Immortal Realm.
"Unless… There is some kind of spatial anomaly of sorts around this place that spit out the dead body before swallowing it up again during the short period of time between the little lion taking a bite out of it and going crazy and now…" Muttering this to himself as he stared towards the indent that had been created in the ground by the body of the demonic cultivator that had now vanished without a trace, Xuan Hao couldn't think of anything other than some kind of spatial anomaly to explain what had happened.
Even if there was a chance of an extremely powerful cultivator far beyond anything he had encountered so far taking action to kill this demonic cultivator at the Demon King Realm, he doubted that would be the case, as there would have been no reason for such an existence to leave the body behind for no reason.
No to mention, the winged lion demon beast had clearly eaten some of it. Lowering the overall value of the body itself.
If a powerful cultivator had indeed killed off the demonic cultivator, Xuan Hao felt that there would be little to no reason for such an existence to simply ignore the winged lion demon beast going on a rampage.
Even if it wasn't out of goodwill, they would at least want to get back what had essentially been stolen from them by the winged lion demon beast who carelessly ate part of the dead demonic cultivator without a second thought.
But… If it's a spatial anomaly, what kind of spatial anomaly is it? Is it related to an ancient secret realm or a mystic realm? Perhaps another ancient battlefield? For me to not have sensed it, it should contain principles far beyond what I understand…
Thinking this to himself as he focused his eyes on the location where the dead body of the demonic cultivator should have been, Xuan Hao could not help himself feeling a bit excited at the prospect of encountering a spatial anomaly beyond his understanding.
After all, he could tell that the anomaly was limited to a relatively small area and shouldn't prove too dangerous, while at the same time also understanding that if there was indeed such a spatial anomaly, it contained principles of the Dao of Space far beyond his current realm of understanding.
No matter what, if he could observe such a spatial anomaly, it would certainly prove fruitful for his own comprehension of the Dao of Space. Possibly even giving him a glimpse of the realm beyond the Large Success Realm.
The only problem being that he had no idea when this spatial anomaly would occur, as it could happen in a few seconds or in another thousand years.
Although he did really want to find an opportunity to observe what he now full believed to be some kind of spatial anomaly, he also understood that he couldn't waste his time sitting around for hundreds of years for something that he wasn't even sure would happen.
"To stay or not…" Muttering this to himself as he thought about the pros and cons of staying around, Xuan Hao ultimately decided to remain at the location where the dead body of the demonic cultivator had disappeared for a few weeks to watch out for the spatial anomaly.
At the same time also standing in for the winged lion demon beast who returned to the sect to recover and consolidate its cultivation base the Second Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm.
After all, the current Star Shattering Sect didn't have a lot of Soul Ascension Realm cultivators at the moment, with rabbit demon beast currently guarding the Iron Sky Kingdom, Yi Min busy helping the blacksmiths of the sect and Pei Yang assisting the sect's alchemists for the upcoming competition.
For the first time in a long time, Xuan Hao officially took on a responsibility inside the sect that he wouldn't normally take on. Guarding the sect's border from any demonic cultivators in the True Demon Realm, a far more peaceful experience than he had first expected when he decided to do this, as the True Demon Realm demonic cultivator didn't take long to realize that some kind of terrifying cultivator was currently present at the border of the Star Shattering Sect.
In turn, it also caused the number of demonic cultivators attacking the Star Shattering Sect to drastically decrease compared to before.
Although this would have been something good in normal circumstances and for any other empire or kingdom bordering the Frozen Wasteland, it was devasting to the Star Shattering Sect, who at this point primarily relied on the demonic cultivators for combat training of the younger generation.
As a result, it didn't take long before Elder Song and Feng Chen heard about this and were forced to take action to ensure that a steady stream of demonic cultivators would flow towards the Star Shattering Sect. In the end causing them to contact Xuan Hao about the problem to try and convince him to leave the border of the sect as fast as possible so as to not scare off the demonic cultivators…
Chapter 1400: Unknown Artifact, Scaring off Demonic Cultivators
"I'm… Scaring off the demonic cultivators…?"
Having only spent a little over a week at the border between the Star Shattering Sect and the neighboring kingdom bordering the Frozen Wasteland where demonic cultivators came from, Xuan Hao could not help staring at the person standing in front of him with a somewhat surprised look on his face as he said this.
"Yes! Your presence and the death of two True Demon Realm demonic cultivators has caused the rest of the demonic cultivators to become scared of advancing into our territory. Lowering the number of demonic cultivators available for practice! If you don't leave and things continue like this, we will soon have to look for more expensive methods of nurturing the younger generation!
Nurturing demon beasts for the disciples to fight, allowing them to venture out in the world to experience real life and death battles, ensuring the safety of all these disciples as they leave for experience... All of this is draining to the sect's resources!
Using the demonic cultivators that are all in one location and allowing the disciples to experience real life and death combat, while also giving them a chance to wander around the borders of the sect for experience is far more cost efficient for the sect and drains far less resources."
Standing in front of him was none other than Feng Chen, who had rushed over after learning about the situation through Elder Song. Wasting no time as he explained how important it was for the demonic cultivators to continue attacking the Star Shattering Sect.
Although, as he listened to Feng Chen's explanation, Xuan Hao had a feeling that he had been heavily influenced by Elder Song.
However, what he said did make sense, as the sect did indeed benefit a lot from the constant and unending attack from the demonic cultivators swarming out from the Frozen Wastelands.
Whoosh~
Closing his eyes, Xuan Hao decided to first take a look of the current situation and determine if it was really as bad as what Feng Chen had described to him. Not fully believing that the demonic cultivators would lessen their attack only after he had been around for a little over a week. Killing only two True Demon Realm demonic cultivators.
After all, it had to be known that the winged lion demon beast had killed far more demonic cultivators in the True Demon Realm than that over the years that it had spent guarding the borders of the sect.
Of course, there was a longer time between the deaths of these True Demon Realm demonic cultivators and the fights should not have been as one sided as his, but still- The demonic cultivators shouldn't have retreated so rapidly just because of this…
"No demonic cultivators over here either… Haaa… Where have they all gone? I haven't seen a single demonic cultivator in over three hours!"
"Hmph! Still lucky, I haven't encountered a demonic cultivator the entire day! I had nothing to do and could only wander around the local village I was in charge of guarding without doing anything…"
"No demonic cultivators. No contribution points. How am I supposed to buy the artifact I promised my senior sister on her birthday like this!?"
"Gift? I can't even afford the spiritual herbs for my cultivation…"
"I'm also-"
"…"
Listening to the conversations between a few disciples who were guarding the border of the sect, Xuan Hao confirmed that there was indeed a lack of demonic cultivators. Although, their disappointment in not finding any demonic cultivators was rather surprising. Making him wonder what the sect would do when this stream of demonic cultivators would stop for real.
Whoosh~
Of course, he didn't just intend to check out what the sect's disciples were up to, but also intended to take a look at what the demonic cultivators were doing and if they were really scared away by him or had been stopped by something entirely different than him.
"Is it true? The Great True Demon Vasha died?"
"Yes… He was already close to the Demon Lord Realm, but died so fast and without sound, the other True Demons think a Celestial Immortal Realm Ancestor from the Blue Sea Empire might be residing in the area for some unknown reason and decided to lay low for now."
"Really!? How do they know it isn't just one of them passing through?"
"One of them has a special artifact that allows him to sense danger and the danger currently at the border is no less than that of Celestial Immortal Realm cultivator!"
"Wow… So that is why…"
"…"
Listening in on the conversations between the demonic cultivators before finally finding something that allowed him to get a better understanding of the situation and what had caused the demonic cultivators to stop their attack, Xuan Hao could not help silently frowning to himself before trying to find this demonic cultivator with the special artifact that allowed helping in sensing danger.
However, he was ultimately unable to find this demonic cultivator. Possibly because they had already sensed the danger and decided to hide away before he could find them.
Haaa… Looks like it is indeed me who is behind the lowered number of demonic cultivators trying to cross the borders…
In the end, Xuan Hao could only smile wryly to himself and agree with what Feng Chen had said about it being him who was behind the lower number of demonic cultivators trying to enter the sect.
What's worse, from the looks of things, the situation wouldn't change unless he left the border due to the mysterious artifact in the hands of one of the True Demon Realm demonic cultivators…
Oh well, I have already waited around for long enough and the little lion has already recovered and stabilized its cultivation base. So, it is about time for me to head back…
Shaking his head as he thought about this while looking towards the place where the dead body of the demonic cultivator had once been laying on the ground before mysteriously disappearing, Xuan Hao turned around and made his way back towards the sect together with Feng Chen… And much to his and Elder Song's relief, the demonic cultivators attacks on the sect's borders soon returned to normal following Xuan Hao left the border.
Chapter 1401: Demon King's... Children?
Following his brief stay at the border of the sect's territory, Xuan Hao could not help feeling curious about the artifact that one of the True Demon Realm demonic cultivators had used to sense him and in turn avoid him. After all, an artifact capable of doing something like that was definitely at the peak among Transcendent Grade Artifacts. Possibly even surpassing it.
In turn, it also made him a bit confused as to why none of the other demonic cultivators had made a move to try and seize this powerful artifact given that they clearly knew about its existence and power.
The only reason he could think of behind them not doing something like that was that there was a more powerful demonic cultivator behind the one carrying around the artifact, though, the strength of the one carrying around the artifact should also be strong.
After all, no matter how intimidating that demonic cultivator's backing might be, there would always be those who didn't care about any of this.
Unable to satiate his curiosity of this specific demonic cultivator and only feeling himself growing more curious about the demonic cultivator in question, Xuan Hao ultimately decided to try and contact Xuan Gui to see if she knew anything about this demonic cultivator…
"An artifact capable of detecting danger… The only artifacts I know about capable of doing something like that are the protective talisman refined by the Great Demon King of the Frozen Wastelands, though… The refinement of those talismans is incredibly difficult and requires the blood and soul of at least three Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators. For a treasure like that to be outside the core, it should be one of the Demon King of the Frozen wasteland's offspring."
"Requires the blood and soul of three Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators!? And… Offspring? The Demon King of the Frozen Wastelands has children?" Listening to what Xuan Gui told him, Xuan Hao could not help showing a somewhat shocked expression on his face before asking about the offspring thing. Never having thought that the ruler of the Frozen Wastelands would actually have children, as it didn't really seem to fit with what he had seen from demonic cultivators so far for them to have children and even take care of them.
Even more so considering that this care involved refining a protective talisman with the blood and souls of three Celestial Immortal Realm cultivators!
"It's not what you are thinking, these children aren't the same as what you think, they are a backup plan created by the Demon King of the Frozen Wasteland. Allowing him to be reborn through these children even if his main body and soul is destroyed.
This kind of technique is practiced among some of the stronger Demon Kings of the Frozen Wastelands, though it's hard to cultivate given that the children in question are people selectively cultivated by the Demon Kings over a long period of time… And only in the True Demon Realm can they be used for their original purpose.
The main problem in this kind of technique is the fact that they will be able to detect the purpose behind their existence when they reach the Demon Lord Realm and given the connection established between them and the Demon King, they will naturally grow in strength without even cultivating. Leaving only a window of a few hundred years or a thousand years in the best-case scenario where they are useful.
Out of all the Demon Kings in the Frozen Wasteland, only the Demon King of the Frozen Wastelands has the ability to cultivate this technique without any problems. Keeping a constant number of bodies available all across the Frozen Wastelands.
As of now, the number of such children that I know about is around twenty, with three of them being in the True Demon Realm, those in the True Demon Realm all get a protective talisman, though it's rarely used and as far as I know, is recycled to another child when the child is about to reach the Demon Lord Realm."
"This…"
Hearing the origin of the artifact or what he now understood to be a talisman of some sort, Xuan Hao could not help becoming even more shocked than before as he learnt about the terrifying methods of the Demon King in control of the Frozen Wasteland.
Even if you managed to kill his true body and destroyed his soul, he still had several backups scattered all across the Frozen Wastelands that would allow him to reemerge in the future.
Not just that, but it was also clear that someone taking their survival so seriously would also have several other backup plans to ensure their survival. Not to mention, there would definitely also be some of those children hidden away outside the Frozen Wasteland after they broke through to the True Demon Realm and were deemed suitable.
However, the fact that there were more than twenty of those children around was more than enough to make Xuan Hao understand that killing the Demon King of the Frozen Wastelands wouldn't be something easy even if he ended up breaking through to the Profound Immortal Realm in the future.
At the same time, he also understood why those Celestial Immortals from the core region of the continent hadn't destroyed the Frozen Wasteland, it was simply far too difficult.
Not to mention, there were more forbidden grounds similar to the Frozen Wastelands where demonic cultivators gathered. Each of them is now attacking the core region of the continent from different directions.
Although he doubted that all of them had reached the same level as the Demon King of the Frozen Wasteland in terms of their survival ability, he didn't doubt that they should all have some kind of method or thing that had allowed them to continue staying around.
As for a demonic cultivator above the Demon King Realm… Xuan Hao and even Xuan Gui had never heard about someone like that before but given that he knew about the existence of a realm like the Profound Immortal Realm, Xuan Hao had a feeling that there should also be a demonic realm equivalent to the Later Stages of the Profound Immortal Realm…
Chapter 1402: A Mission For The Rabbit Demon Beast
As he finished his conversation with Xuan Gui and managed to figure out what the artifact that had been able to notice his presence was, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit uneasy knowing that one of the bodies prepared by the Demon King of the Frozen Wastelands was actually so close the Star Shattering Sect. Understanding that the presence of this demonic cultivator meant that there was the possibility that the strongest existence in the Frozen Wasteland might turn his attention towards the Star Shattering Sect.
Although the chance of this was unlikely and this had a higher chance of having something to do with the dead demonic cultivator in the Demon King Realm that the winged lion demon beast had taken a bite out, he also understood that the Star Shattering Sect's closeness to the location where the body had been located by the winged lion demon beast meant that there was a high chance of the Star Shattering Sect getting caught up in whatever had happened in that location.
After all, the body had been inside the Star Shattering Sect. Meaning that anyone trying to investigate what had happened to that demonic cultivator would likely turn their attention towards the Star Shattering Sect.
Normally, if the Star Shattering Sect had just been a power similar to those other kingdoms and smaller empires around it, it would have been fine, as the powerful cultivator or demonic cultivator looking into the situation would have just been able to use their divine sense to check out the situation without anyone noticing, but… The Star Shattering Sect was far stronger than these surrounding powers and had the chaotic qi formation that was more than capable of preventing anyone in the Celestial Immortal Realm or Demon King Realm from seeing what was inside the Shattered Star Peaks.
Inevitably, this would end up drawing unwanted attention to the Star Shattering Sect and possibly even make the one trying to investigate the situation think that the Star Shattering Sect was somehow involved in what had happened to that Demon King Realm demonic cultivator.
Even though the Star Shattering Sect had grown stronger over the past few years and Xuan Hao felt confident in his current strength, he also understood that there was no way for the current Star Shattering Sect to face off against someone in the Celestial Immortal Realm or the Demon King Realm.
At most, the sect could retreat back to the Shattered Star Peaks and hide away inside the chaotic qi formation, but that would essentially destroy all of the work that the sect had put into expanding its territory along with giving up most of the resources that the sect had managed to secure.
For the future growth of the Star Shattering Sect, there was absolutely no way that Xuan Hao would want something like that to happen, as it would also cause the growth of his disciples to slow down and in turn also slow down his own cultivation speed.
Not to mention, although the chaotic qi formation had proved that it had the strength to resist against someone in the Celestial Immortal Realm in the past, he had no idea if the formation would be able to endure against a continued attack from someone in the Celestial Immortal Realm or the Demon King Realm… And that was not even considering that even stronger existence at the Profound Immortal Realm and the demonic cultivators equivalent to that realm might get attracted after learning about the situation.
No… I have to ensure that this doesn't end up causing any future problems for the sect!
In the end, by the point that Xuan Hao had returned back to the Eighth Star Peak and was about to continue studying the ancient teleportation formation, he had already resolved himself to figure out and solve the dangerous situation that the sect now unknowingly found itself in.
The only problem was that the only one who might know about what had happened to the demonic cultivator in the Demon King Realm was related to the Demon King of the Frozen Wastelands and had a way to detect his presence before he even got close to him.
Not just that, but he was apparently also someone powerful in the True Demon Realm. Making it difficult for the Star Shattering Sect to dispatch anyone at the Soul Ascension Realm to try and take care of the situation in his place.
The only ones in the sect that had reached the Soul Ascension Realm were around the earlier stages of the realm and were far from reaching the peak of the realm that this demonic cultivator should be comparable to.
Of course, there was also the fact that his goal wasn't to kill the demonic cultivator, as that might end up drawing unwanted attention. Instead, it was to try and figure out what that demonic cultivator was up to and figure out a way to get them to leave the borders of the Star Shattering Sect as fast as possible.
But doing so would require someone not strong enough to pose a threat to the demonic cultivator, but still strong enough to quietly monitor him and his actions…
Wait… Maybe the rabbit demon beast could, do it? With its size, no ordinary True Demon Realm or Soul Ascension Realm cultivator should be able to easily discover it. Not to mention, it should be fast enough to escape even if a Demon Lord shows up. If I lend it a bit of a hand in concealing its presence, it should be possible…
Narrowing both of his eyes as he thought about this, Xuan Hao realized that the rabbit demon beast that had been left to help Yi Min defend her kingdom was the perfect one for the job with a bit of assistance on his side.
The only problem was that there wouldn't be anyone to defend the Iron Sky Kingdom while the rabbit demon beast was gone, as Yi Min was still in the Star Shattering Sect helping out the elders of the Blacksmithing Hall.
Although, he could defend the kingdom and borders himself…
"Haaa… Looks like building out a network of teleportation formations will have to wait for a bit longer…" Shaking his head as he said this to himself while looking back towards the ancient teleportation formation that he had been about to sit down in front of to continue studying, Xuan Hao got up before leaving the Eighth Star Peak.
First heading towards the Sea of a Thousand Furnaces where Yi min was currently teaching a group of elders and disciples about the Dao of Blacksmithing before informing her about him taking over the job of guarding the Iron Sky Kingdom before leaving for the Iron Sky Kingdom to pick up the rabbit demon beast and having it take on the little mission of spying on the demonic cultivator.
Not bothering to explain the reason why to the confused expression on Yi Min's face, who had no idea why he would suddenly be taking over the protection of the Iron Sky Kingdom and the resources inside the chaotic region of the former Sky Empire linked to the kingdom.
Considering that it would be best for him to leave as soon as possible, as any time wasted could potentially lead to that demonic cultivator growing interested in the Star Shattering Sect.
At the very least, he hoped that the demonic cultivator would not associate the strong presence at the borders of the Star Shattering Sect with the Star Shattering Sect and would instead just think of it as someone from the Blue Sea Empire who happened to pass through the area and took a week to check out the situation of demonic cultivators in the area.
Although it was not likely for something like that to happen, it wasn't entirely unrealistic considering that the Blue Sea Empire had at this point established a permanent presence in the Onyx Empire right next to the Star Shattering Sect's territory.
Apparently having turned the Onyx Empire into their primary stronghold at the border of the Frozen Wasteland against the influx of demonic cultivators. The reason being that it was in a relatively central position along the Blue Sea Empire's border with the Frozen Wasteland, while at the same time already having been mostly abandoned by normal mortals due to the last few assaults on the Onyx Empire.
Well… Most of the mortals didn't abandon the Onyx Empire so to speak but were instead just devoured or killed by the demonic cultivators when they had flooded into the empire in the past.
No matter, it still gave the Blue Sea Empire a relatively good area to fight without killing too many mortals in the process, though, that was still for the future, as the Frozen Wasteland didn't seem too intent on focusing their full strength on taking down the Blue Sea Empire at the moment. Instead being focused on other major empires along their borders.