Generally speaking, a Qi Cultivator at the initial stage of the Spirit-Gathering Realm could only sense an area within twenty to thirty miles with their spiritual sense.
Thanks to the "Spirit-Gathering Realm Ghastly Training" from the past two years, Li Ping'an's spiritual sense was much stronger than that of other cultivators at the same realm, capable of sensing an area of approximately fifty miles around.
This gave him some additional sense of security.
Li Ping'an travelled southward, taking underground rivers instead of the surface, flying close to the ground instead of high in the air, avoiding clan gates and bypassing towns, with the primary goal of not stirring up trouble.
He always believed in the principle that an enemy would not spare you just because you had only been cultivating for three years.
With the books on Immortal Sects his father brought from time to time, Li Ping'an had already roughly understood this world while in the clan gates.
There is a song that praises:
"It all began with Pangu, who opened the heavens and Earth, while the Innate Beings retreated to let all creatures strive.
Dragons and phoenixes rose in power only to meet their downfall, while the Hundred Clans established the heavens but could not keep them whole.
Reversing yin and yang buried them in water and fire, while the Holy Mother shaped the earth for the benefit of the Three Pure Ones.
Yan and Huang rose up, while the barbarian tribes withdrew, and thus the Four Continents are now divided by the Five Elements."
This world was somewhat similar to the "Age of Myth" that Li Ping'an knew, with only minor differences.
For example, here mentioning the Ancestral Master refers to the Three Pure Ones, not the famous Taoist Hongjun.
There were rumors that the Three Pure Ones had another master, but the teacher of the Three Pure Ones retreated from the world since ancient times, perhaps that was Taoist Hongjun.
This world would not directly call the six powerful Sect Hierarchs Saints; the only one associated with the word "Saint" is Shengmu Nuwa of the Human Race.
As for the structure of the entire world, it's divided into the Four Continents of East, South, West, and North based on their location.
The most affluent among them is the East Continent, the Southern Continent is now the dominion of the Human Race, in reverence to Shengmu Nuwa;
The Western Continent is preserved for the ancient Hundred Clans, with two Sect Hierarchs from the Western Sect held in esteem;
The Northern Continent is known for its bitter cold, miasma, and widespread venomous insects, fraught with danger and home to ancient sorcerers and powerful demons in seclusion.
There are also differences between the East Continent and the Southern Continent, but what exactly those differences are, the Wanyun Sect's texts are vague; it seems that the entire Southern Continent is enveloped within a massive formation, forbidding Qi Cultivators from entering or leaving at will.
Compared to the mysterious Southern Continent, the East Continent, where Li Ping'an and his father resided, was much more "normal."
Immortals and mortals here mingled together, with Immortal Sects standing tall; while Human Race Qi Cultivators revered Shengmu Nuwa, they also respected the Three Pure Ones.
It is said that all the Immortal Sects in the East Continent originated from the courts of the Three Pure Ones—primarily referring to the Kunlun Jade Void Palace and Jinao Island in the East Sea.
In the East Continent, the secular world has its own territories, and Qi Cultivators have their clan gates; each distinctly separate yet intertwined, where the former are often subordinates to the latter.
The Immortal Dynasties frequently waged wars against each other, and the personal grudges of Qi Cultivators were numerous, not to mention the havoc wrought by evil cultivators and the Demonic Path...
In short, the East Continent was indeed rather chaotic in many areas.
Li Ping'an travelled south for three days and three nights, and near a certain town, he witnessed a "robbery."
The robbers were a dozen Loose Cultivators with their faces covered, possessing various techniques and mixed auras, with the weakest among them at the seventh stage of the Spirit-Gathering Realm and the strongest around the sixth stage of the Spirit-Gathering Realm.
The victims were another group of Loose Cultivators, generally weaker than the robbers.
After a brief engagement, the victims began to desperately break out, mostly each fighting on their own, not paying much heed to the lives and deaths of others.
Li Ping'an found the scene rather enlightening.
Of course, he would not intervene casually as it had nothing to do with him.
All he could do was to keep a greater distance from the Magical Combat site, watch the Qi Cultivators fight from the shadows, ponder their tactics, and then he would sigh:
"To make a move is to gamble with one's life."
After observing the conflict between the Qi Cultivators, Li Ping'an became even more cautious.
He took out the maps he received from the Mundane Affairs Hall and meticulously studied them, comparing them with the detailed maps of the East Continent he had acquired earlier, trying to avoid areas where he might encounter danger.
Thus, this small cultivator in the Spirit-Gathering Realm stealthily proceeded all the way to Wan'an City.
Wan'an City was within an Immortal Dynasty called 'Linzheng', which spread over three thousand miles, with hundreds of large cities and countless civilians.
All the cities, Spirit Veins, and incense offerings within Linzheng Immortal Dynasty were considered the 'sect property' of Wanyun Sect;
One of the significant duties of the Wanyun Sect's outer gates was to protect the entire Linzheng Immortal Dynasty, to open up mines for spirit stones, to clear away demon beasts, and to search regularly in Linzheng for children with potential to be cultivators.
The Wanyun Sect controlled more than just the Linzheng Immortal Dynasty; it had two other smaller Immortal Dynasties and also governed several medium and small towns.
After traversing silently for seven days, Li Ping'an reached the border of the Linzheng Immortal Dynasty.
Passing by a military camp at the border, he saw the flags of the Wanyun Sect and sensed the presence of several Wanyun Immortals.
—The Elders and Deacons of the Wanyun Sect were on rotational duty there.
Thinking it over, Li Ping'an opted not to reveal himself and meet them, instead continuing low-key towards Wan'an City.
After another day's journey, with less than a thousand miles to Wan'an City, Li Ping'an emerged from the underground river, finding a hunter's hut nestled in the mountains that had been abandoned, to tidy up his appearance and comportment.
He couldn't possibly meet Master Chen looking like Wei Yanzhi.
Li Ping'an took out talismans and set up a simple isolation Formation, then withdrew an orb-like magical treasure.
The two Wanyun Sect Immortals who had been secretly protecting Li Ping'an furrowed their brows simultaneously.
The orb emitted a glow of Immortal light, and the Immortal Consciousness of Yansheng and Wei Yanzhi were blocked from the outside, only sensing Li Ping'an's general movements.
Such an odd treasure, they wondered where Li Dazhi had acquired it from.
Elder Yansheng smacked his lips after taking a puff of spiritual root tobacco, pondering briefly, "Our close escort on this journey has been somewhat superfluous, given the lack of grave danger."
Wei Yanzhi laughed, "Little friend Ping'an managed to avoid eight conflicts along the way; isn't that a skill in itself!"