Cultivating Disciples To Breakthrough

by Stayrr

Within a quiet pavilion on top of a lonely mountain peak, Xuan Hao slowly opened his eyes with a bewildered look on his face, he had transmigrated into a cultivation world as an elder of the Flying Sword Sect. He was even an expert at the Nascent Soul Realm, who had the power to easily destory an entire city with a wave of his hand. Most importantly, he had a system that allowed h

22. 725

Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough #Chapter 725 Poisonous Devil Trees And Devil Bugs - Read Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough Chapter 725 Poisonous Devil Trees And Devil Bugs Online - All Page - Novel Bin

"But are we really going to be alright going so far into the Great Poison Swamp? Even if Elder Proud Bear is powerful and is capable of dealing with most of the poisonous insects and demon beasts, he won't be able to account for them more unique insects that appear in the deeper parts of the Great Poison Swamp…"

As the group of three youths were continuing deeper inside the Great Poison Swamp under the watch of the elder in the Domain Lord Realm, one of the youths could not help nervously asking this after seeing an especially powerful demon beasts watching them from a distance.

Even without the demon beast letting any of its killing intent leak out due to the presence of Elder Proud Bear, its strength was not hidden in the slightest. Allowing the three youths to understand that the demon beast was actually Half a Step into the Domain Lord Realm!

"This… You don't have to worry about it. If it really ends up getting too dangerous, we can always get Elder Proud Bear to carry us and escape. From what I heard, the demon beasts here do not chase for too long due to them fearing that their territory will get invaded by all sorts of unknown poisonous insects that will end up posing a lethal threat if it can't find all of them…"

"Senior brother is correct, just look at all the demon beasts we encountered so far. Even the demon beasts that were far stronger than us and couldn't see through Elder Proud Bear's strength didn't dare attack us if we were too far away from them."

"I get it… It's just that I'm feeling a bit nervous with all the poisonous insects and demon beasts around. Especially after the recent news that one of the Dark Sky Kingdom's Domain Lords went missing in here just a day earlier…" Hearing what his two fellow disciples said, the nervous youth started to calm down as he said this.

""…""

Seeing that their friend had calmed down, the other two both kept silent as a serious expression appeared on their faces upon hearing what the nervous one had mentioned.

A Domain Lord from the Dark Sky Kingdom had gone missing…

Even if they understood that it was normal for a Domain Lord to go missing inside the Great Poison Swamp every now and then, they also understood why their friend got more and more nervous the deeper inside of the Great Poison Swamp they went.

To be honest, both of them also understood what their friend was feeling, as both of them were in a similar nervous state. The only difference was that they didn't outwardly show it…

"Haha, you three are already getting nervous? We have only just crossed the outer region of the Great Poison Swamp and entered the boundary between the outer and inner region of the Great Poison Swamp!

To get the Poisonous Devil Leaves from the Poisonous Devil Tree that you three are here for, we will have to cross the boundary. After all, the Poisonous Devil Tree can only be found in the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp!"

Having walked over as all three youths had unconsciously come to a stop in the middle of a small piece of dry land inside the mostly wet swampland of the Great Poison Swamp, Elder Proud Bear could not help chuckling to himself as he said with a teasing smile on his face.

Although he had been assigned to look after the three youths during their mission to get their hands of the leaves of the Poisonous Devil Tree, it wouldn't hurt if he interacted with them for a few minutes.

"""Elder!"""

Not expecting for Elder Proud Bear to come over, all three of them jumped up in surprise as they called out with happy expressions on their faces.

Even if they understood Elder Proud Bear was watching over them from a distance due to them having to navigate the Great Poison Swamp and avoid the different poisonous insects by themselves, they could not help feeling happy after he showed up next to them

Ads by Pubfuture

"Calm down you three, I'm just here to tell you to get moving instead of standing around. Haven't you noticed that the nearby poisonous demon beasts have already started encircling this place?"

"Wha-!?"

"This…"

"They really have started surrounding us…"

Hearing what their elder told them, the three youths quickly looked around themselves and realized that the different demon beasts they had seen from afar before, were now only standing a few dozen meters away from them.

If not for the fact that Elder Proud Bear had shown up an told them…

"L-let's get going! We still have to find the Poisonous Devil Tree and get the leaves before we can leave. The faster we get them, the faster we can leave the Great Poison Swamp!"

""Yeah!""

Not wasting any time after hearing what their senior brother said, the two other youths quickly followed him as all three of them quickly made their way out of the almost complete encirclement by the poisonous demon beasts-

Roar!

Roar!

Roar!

However, some of the poisonous demon beasts did not seem too happy about their pray just leaving, as they pounced forward the moment the three youths were about to fully leave the incomplete encirclement.

Fwoosh-!

"Hmph!"

However, just as these poisonous demon beasts were about to reach the three youths, a terrifying domain engulfed all of them.The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

Ads by Pubfuture

Roar-

Bang!

Not even able to even make a small roar, all the poisonous demon beasts were crushed to death beneath the terrifying domain!

The only poisonous demon beasts that stayed alive was the one that was already Half a Step into the Domain Lord Realm, as it had already recognized the strength of Elder Proud Bear and was wise enough to stay away when the rest of the nearby poisonous demon beasts had decided to encircle the three youths and Elder Proud Bear.

"Hm? What are you three standing there for? Get going!"

Turning towards the three youths who were all gazing up at him filled with amazement, Elder Proud Bear waved for them to continue, while secretly smiling to himself upon seeing their reaction. Feeling quite happy at the admiration he got from the three youths after having displayed his power.

"Y-Yes Elder!"

Filled with amazement after seeing the awesome display of power by Elder Proud Bear, the oldest among the three youths was the first to calm down as he quickly bowed his head in respect before dragging his junior brother and sister along with him. Not wanting to attract more poisonous demon beasts and having to rely on Elder Proud Bear once again.

…

"This should be the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp…"

Seeing a very clear line of trees giving off a demonic feeling appearing in the distance, Xuan Hao slowed down his speed as he slowly approached the line of trees in the distance cautiously.

Poisonous devil trees… According to what Yi Min said, these trees signal the beginning of the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp. Not only that, but their leaves are rather special and can be considered a great ingredient in not only poisonous potions and pills, but also healing ones…

Thinking about this, Xuan Hao narrowed his eyes and focused on the small creatures crawling all over the leaves of the Poisonous Devil Trees.

"Devil Bugs…" Muttering this to himself, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine upon remembering Yi Min's description of these small insects.

Devil Bugs were a special kind of insect that only lived on the Poisonous Devil Tree and would die the moment it went too far away from the tree. The insect in question was not that strong and its poison was only barely strong enough to kill someone in the Core Formation. However, things would be different if there was more than one Devil Bug around…

"The more of them are around, the stronger they get and when the number of Devil Bugs reaches a certain level, they become near unkillable, and their poison will get strong enough to even kill someone in the Domain Lord Realm!

And… The only place where the concentration of Devil Bugs has reached this level, is the border between the outer region and the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp…" Shaking his head as he said this while looking towards the endless number of Devil Bugs covering the Poisonous Devil Trees in the distance, Xuan Hao could not help growing even more nervous as he got closer.

Even if there was a rather simple way to pass through the border wall formed by the dangerous Devil Bugs and the Poisonous Devil Trees, Xuan Hao still did could not stop himself from feeling a bit fearful when facing the harmless looking Devil Bugs.

After all, the Devil Bugs in front of him had claimed the lives of many powerful cultivators before the method to safely pass through the border wall was found. According to Yi Min, a powerful expert in the Soul Ascension Realm had even died to the Devil Bugs in the past before a method to safely enter the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp was found!

Ads by Pubfuture

Report chapter Comments

Thump~

Coming to a stop a short distance away from the Poisonous Devil Trees covered in Devil Bugs while thinking about the method that Yi Min had told him to safely pass through the border that had been formed, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit nervous as he watched the Devil Bugs crawling all over the Poisonous Devil Trees in front of him.

The thought of killing them never crossed his mind after personally seeing them and feeling how weak they were compared to himself, as he understood that they would be impossible to kill. Even for someone in the Soul Ascension Realm Expert according to what Yi Min had told him.

Not to mention that attacking the Devil Bugs would not do anything other than provoking them for no reason and making it impossible to enter the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp… And that was considering that he would be able to escape from the Devil Bugs after attacking them!

"Haa…"

Taking a deep breath as he thought about this, Xuan Hao calmed down before taking a step forward and entering the small layer of Poisonous Devil Trees separating the outer region of the Great Poison Swamp from the inner region.

During this process, he moved at a slow pace and made sure to ignore the countless Devil Bugs that ended up crawling up his legs and all over his body.

From what Yi Min had told him about passing through this place, the most important thing was to ignore the Devil Bugs no matter what. Even when they crawled all over his body, he had to ignore them unless he wanted them to attack him.

After leaving the thin layer of Poisonous Devil Trees where they lived, they would leave his body on their own.

"…"

Even then, Xuan Hao found it difficult to ignore the countless Devil Bugs that crawled all over his body.

The outside!

After spending close to half an hour slowly walking through the thin layer of Poisonous Devil Trees like this, Xuan Hao could not help happily exclaiming inside his head when he saw the row of Poisonous Devil Trees coming to an end.

Rustle~!

Stepping outside only a few seconds later, Xuan Hao could not help being filled with relief after feeling the countless Devil Bugs all over his body quickly leaving and rushing back towards the Poisonous Devil Trees again.

Even if the Devil Bugs didn't hurt him, it was not a pleasant sensation to have them crawling all over his body. If possible, he wanted to avoid something like that happening again… But then again, he still had to pass through the border of Poisonous trees one more time if he wanted to leave the Great Poison Swamp…

"I'm really not looking forward to that…" Shaking his head as he said this while looking back towards the Poisonous trees and the Devil Bugs behind him, Xuan Hao turned towards the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp that spread out before him.

Different from the outer region of the Great Poison Swamp where the strongest poisonous demon beast and insect would at most have the strength to kill someone below the Domain Lord Realm, the creatures found inside the inner region were far more dangerous.

Not to mention the fact a normal Early Stage Domain Lord between the First and Third Stage of the Domain Lord Realm would end up dead if not careful. Even someone who had reached the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm might die if they happened to get bitten by some of the most dangerous insects inside the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp!

Of course, with a domain to scan the area around them, it was unlikely to get bitten by any of these insects unless they had developed a way to hide from the powerful senses of someone in the Domain Lord Realm.

In the end, the main threat to Domain Lord Realm Experts came from the powerful poisonous demon beasts that could be found inside the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp. Although their poison was far weaker than the insects, their strength was already far stronger, with the most powerful ones even reaching the later stages of the Domain Lord Realm!

For some reason, although it was said that the Great Poison Swamp was the safest of the special places surrounding the large empty plain, it seemed far more dangerous compared to the Thousand Wind Mountains…

Could it be that the danger of the Great Poison Swamp only takes the outer region into account?

Smiling a bit wryly as he thought this to himself, Xuan Hao decided not to think about it any longer. In the first place, he had already decided to go through the Great Poison Swamp and it was not really like he would be in any danger against a few poisonous demon beasts in the Domain Lord Realm!

Whoosh~!

With that in mind, Xuan Hao began making his way deeper inside the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp. Intending to pass through the core of the place and have a quick look around to see if he could find any precious poisonous spiritual herbs before continuing on his way out of the Great Poison Swamp and towards the capital city of the Sky Empire.

…

BANG!The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

"Hmph! These demon beasts are getting more and more powerful the closer I get to the core of the Great Poison Swamp…

According to what Yi Min said, the number of poisonous demon beasts that has surpassed the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm and reached the Seventh Stage like this one should be extremely low, but I have already encountered three of them so far… And that is not mentioning the number of Domain Lord Realm poisonous demon beast below the Seventh Stage!"

Frowning as he looked down at the dead demon beasts beneath his feet, who's head he had just crushed with a massive hammer made from ice a second ago, Xuan Hao could not help narrowing both of his eyes as he felt the powerful aura belonging the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm still lingering around the dead demon beast.

Even if killing it had been rather simple with his current strength, Xuan Hao could not help feeling that something was wrong with the number of powerful poisonous demon beasts he had encountered so far.

Given what he understood of the Great Poison Swamp, he should still have quite a distance before reaching the most dangerous core of the Great Poison Swamp.

If the strength of the poisonous demon beasts continued to increase like they were, Xuan Hao felt that he might end up running into a poisonous demon beast that had reached the Soul Ascension Realm by the point he reached the core of the Great Poison Swamp!

No matter how confident Xuan Hao was in his strength, he didn't want to risk his life fighting against a demon beast in the Soul Ascension Realm… Much less in a dangerous location like the Great Poison Swamp, where he might end up bitten by some dangerous poisonous insect during combat!

"But then again… Turning around at this point in time would waste a lot of time and its not really like the rest of the special areas are in a much better state. In the worst-case scenario, I can always escape."

Shaking his head as he said this to himself while looking towards the core region of the Great Poison Swamp, Xuan Hao understood deep down that part of him was looking forward to encountering a Soul Ascension Realm demon beast.

After all, ever since his sword and ice domain had merged together and his strength had surpassed what could be considered the Domain Lord Realm, Xuan Hao had been looking forward to trying out his new strength.

The Soul Ascension Realm Expert he had encountered inside the Thousand Wind Mountains would be a good opponent, but the situation was not really ideal and he didn't want to risk exposing his current strength to the upper echelons of the Sky Empire as of now due to it possibly bringing unwanted attention to the Star Shattering Sect before it had enough strength to defend itself against the attack of someone in the Soul Ascension Realm without his or the Chaotic Qi Formations help.

"Encountering a Soul Ascension Realm demon beast really is the best option… Ah…" Unknowingly saying this out loud as he thought about what he might encounter when entering the core region of the Great Poison Swamp, Xuan Hao could not help smiling wryly before shaking his head and continuing towards the core region of the Great Poison Swamp.

Fighting a demon beast in the Soul Ascension Realm to test out his current strength really was the best possible option, as it wouldn't risk him exposing his strength to the powerful experts of the Sky Empire.

Not to mention, the strange restraining force engulfing the entire Great Poison Swamp didn't just prevent him from flying, but also kept the overall stability of the Great Poison Swamp and prevented it from getting destroyed by a fight between powerful experts.

Even if Yi Min had not told him anything about this, Xuan Hao had experienced it first-hand, when the strange restraining force inside the miasma forcefully dispelled the aftershocks of his attacks when fighting against the Domain Lord Realm demon beasts.

Although the strange restraining power did not lower the strength of his attacks towards his opponent, it did lower the damage to the surrounding swampland, which in turn made it far harder to sense that a battle was taking place from far away!

Report chapter Comments

At the same time Xuan Hao was making his way towards the core of the Great Poison Swamp, the three youths on the other side of the Great Poison Swamp had made their way to the border between the inner and outer region of the Great Poison Swamp where the Poisonous Devil Trees they were looking for could be found.

Of course, the only reason why they could get this far in the first place, was due to the fact that Elder Proud Bear was looking after them and making sure that none of the powerful poisonous demon beasts attacked them. Only letting a few weaker ones at the Core Formation Realm through for the three youths to fight.

"So, this is the Poisonous Devil Trees located at the border between the outer and inner region of the Great Poison Swamp…" Standing in front of the Poisonous Devil Trees covered in Devil Bugs, the youngest boy among the three youths could not help muttering this to himself with a scared expression on his face.

""…""

The junior sister and senior brother standing beside him were not in a much better situation, as they also looked towards the countless Devil Bugs crawling all over the Poisonous Devil Trees filled with fear.

Even if they already knew about the Devil Bugs beforehand, it was a totally different thing to see them first-hand. Especially considering that they would soon have to get close enough to these terrifying insects to get their hands on the Poisonous Devil Leaves of the Poisonous Devil Tree!

"As long as we don't use any qi and ignore them, we should be fine. Not to mention, everyone has to go through this at some point if they want to become core disciples… And so do we…"

Being the first among the three youths to calm down, the junior sister who was by far the weakest among the three youths took the lead and made her way towards the Poisonous Devil Trees without waiting for the other two.

Rustle~

Rustle~

Rustle~

Ignoring the sound of the countless Devil Bugs crawling all over the ground beneath the Poisonous Devil Trees and on the branches above, the junior sister entered the small border of Poisonous Devil Trees that separated the outer and inner region of the Great Poison Swamp.

"We can't lack behind when compared to our junior sister if we want to become core disciples…"

"Haa… Indeed… But why did the mission to become a core disciple have to be something like this? Could it not be easier to just have a test of strength like any normal sect instead of having us come to this bug infested place…?"

"Hehe, you know this is not the final mission or test we will have to go through before becoming a core disciple.. Right?"

"…"

Not wasting any time after seeing that their junior sister had already entered ahead of them, the older and stronger senior brother quickly entered behind her. Soon followed by the unwilling junior brother who tried his absolute best to remain calm as he felt the Devil Bugs start crawling up his legs before starting to explore his body.

The fact that his senior brother and junior sister were completely calm compared to him who was close to experiencing a mental breakdown barely allowed him to forcefully keep himself calm to not fall behind as they made their way deeper inside the small forest formed by the Poisonous Devil Trees.

Unfortunately for the junior brother who was barely keeping himself calm, the Poisonous Devil Leaves that could be used for alchemy were all located deeper inside the small forest formed by the Poisonous Devil Trees.

With his current state of mind getting worse and worse with each passing step he took forward, the junior brother had a feeling that he might be forced to give up his chance to become a core disciple if he didn't want to risk his life. After all, the moment his barely kept calm composure broke, the Devil Bugs crawling all over him would attack.

Even if the most powerful ancestor of his sect was present, the junior brother understood very well that there would be no way to safe him from the Devil Bugs if they turned hostile at this moment…

"I don't think he is going to make it…"Where Stories Blossom: NvεlB¡n.

"Indeed, he is far too nervous. Even the Devil Bugs around him have started getting livelier in response to his composure slowly breaking…"

Looking back towards their junior brother, the junior sister and senior brother could not help shaking their heads as they said this while completely ignoring the Devil Bugs that were crawling all over them.

From a single glance, it was obvious that these two were doing far better than their junior brother who was about to get consumed by the Devil Bugs at any moment.

"Haaaa… He doesn't look like he wants to give up…"

Seeing that their junior brother continued to follow after them without leaving even when he was in such a bad situation, the senior brother could not help shaking his head as he turned around before continuing deeper inside the forest of Poisonous Devil Trees where the Poisonous Devil Leaves of good enough quality to be used for alchemy could be found.

"…"

The junior sister also turned around with a sad expression on her face before deciding to ignore the struggling junior brother behind her.

Even if she wanted to help, there was nothing she could do to help her junior brother. The only way to make sure he was safe, was if he decided to give up on his chances to become a core disciple and leave the thin strip of forest that the Poisonous Devil Trees had formed.

After all, not even an expert in the Soul Ascension Realm could deal with the terrifying Devil Bugs, let alone a child like herself who had only just recently reached the Core Formation Realm!

…

"So, this is the start of the Great Poison Swamp's core region…"

As the three youths were making their way deeper and deeper inside the small thin strip of forest that had been formed by the Poisonous Devil Trees, Xuan Hao arrived in front of a thick wall of greenish miasma that prevented his divine sense from penetrating it.

Even when he tried to use his domain to penetrate the thick greenish coloured miasma, it could not penetrate more than a few meters before being forcefully stopped by the miasma.

"The miasma should not be damaging in any way and should only be stopping my divine sense and domain from passing through it…" Muttering this to himself as he remembered what he had been told about the miasma in front of him by Yi Min, Xuan Hao carefully approached the greenish coloured miasma before carefully sticking his hand inside it.

"I really am worrying for nothing…"

Seeing nothing happening to his hand, Xuan Hao shook his head before stepping forward and soon finding himself on the other side of the miasma.

However, different from all the things he had encountered so far on his journey through the Great Poison Swamp, Yi Min did not know a lot about the core region of the Great Poison Swamp, outside of the fact that it was a dangerous place that was best to be avoided unless one had reached the later stages of the Domain Lord Realm.

Whoosh~!

For this reason alone, Xuan Hao carefully began inspecting his surroundings with a cautious expression on his face.

Normally, someone in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm should have been safe when travelling through the core region of the Great Poison Swamp… But considering just how many powerful demon beasts he had encountered in the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp, Xuan Hao doubted that this would be the case at the moment.

Not to mention, there was a high likelihood that a poisonous demon beast in the Soul Ascension Realm had appeared in the core region, let alone someone in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm. Even someone in the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm would not be safe inside the core region of the Great Poison Swamp if there really was such a powerful poisonous demon beast around!

"Hm?"

Looking around himself with his divine sense, Xuan Hao could not help frowning as a confused expression soon appeared on his face after grasping the situation around himself.

"There is no poisonous demon beasts or insects around…?"

Indeed, in the massive area covered by his divine sense, Xuan Hao did not manage to find a single poisonous demon beast or insect!

"Could it be… Are the powerful poisonous demon beasts I encountered in the inner region perhaps originally from the core region…?" Muttering this to himself as he remembered the many powerful Domain Lord Realm poisonous demon beasts, he had encountered in the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp, Xuan Hao could not help feeling that there was indeed something happening inside the Great Poison Swamp, something that had scared away all the insects and demon beasts that originally resided in the core region of the swamp…

Report chapter Comments

Understanding just how weird the current situation was, Xuan Hao decided to hide himself with his domain before slowly proceeding through the core region of the Great Poison Swamp.

Even if there was no way for him to hide with his domain from a demon beast that had reached the Soul Ascension Realm. At the very least, it should allow him to sense the other party when he got found. Allowing him a short time to prepare himself.

Whoosh~!

Making sure that he was fully prepared for a fight at any moment, Xuan Hao continued forward while keeping an eye out for any poisonous demon beasts or insects that might still be around inside the core region of the Great Poison Swamp-

"Hm?"

Even then, Xuan Hao did not have to wait for long before he encountered a poisonous demon beast...

"Its... Dead...?"

The only problem, was that the poisonous demon beast in question, was already dead!

Not only dead, but its blood has been drained and in a similar fashion as to how a demonic cultivator would drain the cultivation base of their opponents after defeating them.

"So... I might not be dealing with a poisonous demon beast, but a demonic cultivator that is proficient in draining the cultivation base of demon beasts?" Muttering this to himself as he gazed down at the dead poisonous demon beast in front of him, Xuan Hao could not help feeling that this matter was getting far more complicated than he had originally signed up for.

Not to mention, dealing with a demonic cultivation that had reached the demonic cultivations equivalent of the Soul Ascension Realm, the True Demon Realm, would be far harder compared to a Soul Ascension Realm poisonous demon beast. The main reason for this being the fact that demonic cultivators were by far the hardest to kill, Xuan Hao had experienced this first-hand when fighting with a demonic cultivation in the Third Demonic Transformation Realm not too long ago...

Maybe there might even be a group of powerful True Demon Realm Experts working together on something inside the core region of the Great Poison Swamp...

"Haa..."

Letting out a sigh as he thought about this, Xuan Hao contemplated whether or not to just turn around now and leave before he ended up getting involved in something troublesome-

BOOOOM-!

However, before Xuan Hao had managed to make up his mind on whether or not to proceed on his path through the Great Poison Swamp at the risk of possibly encountering more than one demon cultivation in the True Demon Realm, a loud explosion filled with a power that made a shiver run down his spine echoed out behind him.

"This... Looks like I won't be able to turn around anymore..."

Feeling the strength behind the explosion far surpassed the Domain Lord Realm, Xuan Hao could not help smiling wryly as he felt the sound of fighting in the distance growing closer and closer to his current location.

If he didn't move anytime soon, let alone leaving the Great Poison Swamp to avoid a troublesome situation, he would soon be forced to join the battle against his will!

Normally, Xuan Hao would not mind getting an opportunity to fight with someone in the Soul Ascension Realm... But from what he could sense, the number of people who had surpassed the Domain Lord Realm fighting in the distance was far more than one or two people, a closer estimate would be between 5 or 6 people in the Soul Ascension Realm all fighting with each other!

No matter how eager Xuan Hao was to test his newfound strength, there was no way he would join in on such a troublesome situation that almost certainly involved Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the Sky Empire!

I have to leave this place!

Whoosh-!

Not wasting any time after coming to a decision, Xuan Hao quickly used all his strength to escape in the opposite direction of the fighting, while at the same time doing his best to not get spotted by the people who were busy fighting in the distance.

Even then... Given that Xuan Hao couldn't use the Drifting Cloud Steps due to the strange restrictive force inside the miasma, his speed was far lower than normal and it would only be a matter of time before the battle in the distance caught up to him.

At this point, the only thing Xuan Hao could hope for was that the people battling it out would not be moving in the exact same direction as himself!

...

"Even knowing that these devil bugs won't do anything to me if I don't do anything wrong. Forcefully sealing all my qi inside my dantian is far more difficult than I expected... At least the Poisonous Devil Leaves over there should be good enough and we should soon be able to leave this place!"The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

At the same time Xuan Hao was trying his best to avoid getting involved in the terrifying battle taking place behind him, the junior sister among the three youths could not help muttering this to herself as she looked towards the poisonous devil tree not too far away from herself and her senior brother's current location.

Different from the normal poisonous devil trees, the one that the junior sister was referring was far more colourful and was far larger than the rest of the poisonous devil trees around. Not just that, but the leaves of the tree were also slowly creating a thin hazy green mist that kept the devil bugs away. Allowing one to see the rare sight of a poisonous devil tree that was not completely covered in devil bugs.

"Indeed... It looks like this is a mature poisonous devil tree that is ready to have its leaves harvested..." Standing not too far away from her, the senior brother nodded his head happily before making his way towards the mature poisonous devil tree.

Rustle~!

Rustle~!

Rustle~!

Soon enough, both the junior sister and the senior brother reached the mature poisonous devil tree, as both of them happily watched as the devil bugs covering their bodies left and returned to the still immature poisonous devil trees around them.

"Ah! Finally able to escape from those bugs!"

"Haha, indeed! Let's wait here for a bit to recover before harvesting the leaves!"

Filled with happiness, the two quickly laid down to relax from the stress of having a seemingly endless number of insects crawling all over their bodies for what seemed like an eternity.

Although both of them had managed to stay calm to the point of being able to talk with each other, there was no way they could remain completely unaffected by the insects covering their body. Especially considering that both of them were still young.

However, the most difficult thing for them to deal with, was stopping any of their qi from leaving their dantian!

The moment even a sliver of qi left their dantian, the devil bugs covering their bodies would sense it and would attack them and with their strength at the Core Formation Realm, there was no way for them to resist for more than a few seconds before getting killed.

Then again, the only reason they would be able to resist for such a long period of time, was because the strength of the devil bugs would increase depending on the opponent that they faced.

The limit to the strength of a nest of devil bugs covering a single poisonous devil tree had enough strength to fight equally with someone in the Peak of the Core Formation Realm.

As for the limit of the massive devil bug nest that covered the forest of poisonous devil trees that made up the border between the inner and outer region of the Great Poison Swamp...? That limit had not been found yet, but it was at the very least somewhere in the Soul Ascension Realm or above considering a Soul Ascension Realm had died facing the massive nest of devil bugs...

Below the mature poisonous devil tree. Not only would they be able to not worry about the devil bugs crawling all over them, but they could also relax the restriction on the qi inside their dantian, as the mature poisonous devil tree helped obscure their qi from the devil bugs outside.

Although it did not allow them to fully undo the restrictions they had put in place, it was at a level that they could easily keep in place. Allowing them to partially recover and prepare themselves for the trip back after they harvested the poisonous devil leaves.

"By the way, I haven't seen junior brother for quite some time, do you think that-"

"He should have left ahead of us. After all, he should understand that he had no way to continue given his state of mind. Even if he wants to become a core disciple, there is no way he would be dumb enough to lose his life over it!"

Interrupting the junior sister as she said this while looking back towards the location they had come from, the senior brother quickly shot her down. Not wanting something affecting his junior sister or his own current state of mind when they still had to get back outside safely without getting killed by the devil bugs.

"..."

Not saying any more after hearing what her senior brother said, the junior sister just gazed in the direction that they had come from with a sad expression on her face.

Even without any of them saying anything, she understood very well that her junior brother would not be one to give up... And given that he had not appeared yet, it was obvious what had happened to him...

Report chapter Comments

"let's get going, we don't want to waste too much time here…"

Having stayed beneath the mature poisonous devil tree for a few minutes as both of the them had managed to recover a bit of their energy and calm down, the senior brother took the lead as he said this before beginning to carefully take a few of the mature poisonous devil tree's leaves before placing them inside a small wooden container.

Rustle~!

Not saying anything upon hearing what her senior brother said followed by the sound of the him carefully breaking off the leaves of the tree, the junior sister just looked towards the direction they had come from with a sad expression on her face.

Even if she understood that there was nothing she could do about the junior brother who had yet to show up, she still couldn't help being filled with sadness when thinking about what might have happened to him.

"Haaa…" Letting out a sigh as she slowly got up, the junior sister glanced one last time towards the direction they had come from before turning around to help out her senior brother with gathering the leaves of the mature poisonous devil tree.

The faster they finished harvesting the leaves, the faster they would be able to leave and find out if their junior brother had gotten out safely!

…

This… Where am I…?

At the same time the senior brother and junior sister were preparing to make their way back outside the forest of poisonous devil trees the junior brother that had gone missing slowly opened his eyes with a look of confusion plastered all over his face.

"I clearly remember walking towards my senior brother and then… I can't remember?" Muttering this to himself as he slowly got up from the ground, the young boy could not understand what was happening as he looked around himself-

"Ah!?"

However, all he was met with was the corpse of a massive corpse of a toad like demon beast towering more than five meters into the air. Even without understanding how strong the dead toad was, the young boy could clearly sense the powerful aura around it-

"Domain Lord Realm demon beast!?"

For this reason, he could not help exclaiming in surprise upon realizing just how powerful the dead demon beast in front of him was.

Not to mention the fact that the dead demon beast should have reached the Domain Lord Realm, the strength of its aura far surpassed that of Elder Proud Bear who had reached the First Stage of the Domain Lord Realm!

Feeling a shiver run down his spine as he began wondering how such a powerful demon beast had ended up dying, the young boy completely forgot about the fact that he had been inside the forest of poisonous devil trees, while covered from head to toe in devil bugs just a second ago.

There is another corpse in the distance… No, two- three- seven- W-why are there so many dead demon beasts!?

Slowly calming down as he began to look around himself, the young boy soon started panicking even more than before, as he realized that there wasn't just one or two powerful dead demon beasts around him. Instead, it would be more accurate to say that there was at least a dozen corpse belonging to powerful demon beasts that all gave off a terrifying aura far surpassing that of Elder Proud Bear!

"W-where is this place!?" Barely able to say this as he was filled with dread when facing the massive corpses of demon beasts whose remaining aura alone was enough to make him almost throw up blood on the spot, the young boy tried to more thoroughly inspect his surroundings to get an idea about where he had ended up…

The eerie silence, the swampy ground he was standing on and the ever-present miasma making it hard to see more than a few hundred meters away from his current location…

After just a quick look, it was obvious to the young boy that he was still inside the Great Poison Swamp.

Now the question just became, where in the Great Poison Swamp?

However, given the strength of the dead demon beasts in front of him, the young boy already understood at the back of his mind that there was only one place where such powerful demon beasts could gather in such numbers inside the Great Poison Swamp… The core region of the swamp!

"…"

Given his current strength having just recently reached the Core Formation Realm, the young boy also understood very well his chances of leaving the core region of the Great Poison Swamp.

Not to mention the danger posed by the demon beasts, any random insect inside the core region would have a poison more than potent enough to kill someone in the Nascent Soul Realm, let alone someone who had just recently reached the Core Formation Realm!

"Hm?"

As he was getting more and more depressed thinking about just how little chance, he had of escaping alive, the young boy suddenly noticed something in the distance shining through the thick miasma of the Great Poison Swamp.

Rustle~!

Feeling a weird sense of attraction coming from the light in the distance that had managed to pierce through the thick miasma, the young boy unconsciously began moving towards it. Soon getting swallowed up by the mist, as only the dead corpses of the once powerful demon beasts remained in the location that the young boy had suddenly appeared not more than a few minutes earlier.

…

Boom!

Why are they all moving in the same direction as me!?

As the young boy had suddenly found himself inside the core region, Xuan Hao was desperately trying his best to escape from the battle that was getting closer and closer to him with each passing second.

Whoosh-!

Just at this moment, Xuan Hao felt a shiver run down his spine before narrowly dodging a massive spear shaped rock filled with a terrifying amount of energy that landed right next to him

This-!?

Seeing the spear that had landed right next to him suddenly start collapsing as the energy inside the spear started gathering together with a power that had already far surpassed that of the Domain Lord Realm, Xuan Hao understood that there would be no way for him to defend himself without revealing himself to the people busy fighting behind him-

Fwoosh!

BOOOOOM-!

Fully utilizing the power of his domain, Xuan Hao encapsulated himself in a layer of ice that protected him against the explosion… But in turn, this also ended up revealing himself to the people who were busy fighting behind him…

"…"

Hearing everything go quiet for a short moment after he had defended himself with no signs of movement, Xuan Hao decided to use this moment of confusion that had emerged to continue heading in the opposite direction of where the battle had been taking place!

Whoosh-!

Even if he didn't believe he could escape before those people caught up to him, he would at the very least be able to make some distance between himself and them. If he was lucky, he might even be able to stumble upon some special location inside the core region of the Great Poison Swamp that he could use to hide himself and avoid getting involved in the conflict between the group of Soul Ascension Realm Experts!

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

However, sensing the speed of the people who had now given up on fighting as they instead focused on chasing after him, Xuan Hao could not help silently cursing to himself as he realized just how much of a difference there was between his own speed and theirs.

If just I could use the Drifting Cloud Steps I would be able to easily escape these people… With this speed, let alone buying a few minutes, they will likely catch up to me in a few seconds… Should I use the Drifting Cloud Steps and hope to not accidently take a wrong step and get teleported a few meters into the air?

Shaking his head as this thought emerged, Xuan Hao could not help silently cursing the restricting power that covered the Great Poison Swamp.The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

"Hm? What is that…?"

However, just as Xuan Hao was about to ready himself to face the Soul Ascension Realm Experts that were chasing after him, a weird light suddenly pierced through the thick miasma in front of him. Catching him slightly off guard.

"The disc is complete! Don't let those demons get their hands on it, the person ahead is likely on of their accomplice!"

Swish-!

Hearing a loud roar from the distance followed by a terrifying aura sweeping towards him, Xuan Hao could not help silently cursing to himself as it seemed like he had somehow been bunched up with one of the sides that were fighting behind him.

Not only that, but the person who had tied him to one of the sides fighting had sent forth a powerful attack that far surpassed the exploding earth spear from earlier!

Report chapter Comments

Fwoosh-!

Facing the powerful attack that was heading towards him, Xuan Hao had no way to dodge and could only fully manifest his domain around himself to block it-

Bang!

Not even a second after Xuan Hao's domain spread out and enveloped his surroundings, did the attack clash with the edge of his domain before slowly pushing its way through it towards Xuan Hao located at the centre of the domain.

"Hmph!"

Feeling the attack forcefully push its way towards him while cutting into his domain, Xuan Hao could not help narrowing his eyes as he utilized the power of his domain to gather together and crush the power heading towards from all directions-

Boom!

As the full power of Xuan Hao's domain gathered on the attack before pressing down on it from all sides, Xuan Hao could not help narrowing his eyes as he felt the terrifying power contained inside the attack fighting back against his domain.

BOOOM-!

Even if he managed to forcibly destroy the attack before it reached him, Xuan Hao was not the slightest bit happy with this outcome. After all, there was no way the attack just now had been the strongest attack from the other party… But even then, he had still ended up in such a difficult situation trying to block the attack!

The difference between the Soul Ascension Realm and the Domain Lord Realm is really not easy to cross… Even if I can fight against someone in the Soul Ascension Realm with the help of my domain, I will be put at a clear disadvantage when fighting against someone in the Soul Ascension Realm…

Thinking this to himself as he looked in the direction that the attack had come from, Xuan Hao could not help frowning as he managed to get a better understanding of his current strength after the short clash.

Although his current strength was more than enough for him to fight against someone in the Soul Ascension Realm, Xuan Hao understood that he was still lacking when compared to the Domain Lords he had seen through the ancient book in the Thousand Wind Palace.

Let alone fighting equally with Soul Ascension Realm Experts, a few of those powerful Domain Lords could even fight multiple Soul Ascension Realm Experts at once and come out ahead!

In a sense, his current realm was still lacking a lot when compared to those Ancient Domain Lords…

Whoosh~!

Whoosh~!

Whoosh~!

Momentarily feeling his thoughts wander after having dealt with the powerful attack throw at him, Xuan Hao was brought back to his current situation by the terrifying presence of the experts in the distance all charging towards his current location. This time around, he could even feel a distinct killing intent from one of the people charging over!

Not good!

Whoosh-!

Understanding that it would not be a good idea to stay around and wait for the people chasing after him to catch up, Xuan Hao didn't waste any time as he rushed towards the direction of the strange light in the distance.

Although he was not certain where the light was coming from, he could at least be certain that it was something important from what he had heard the person with very clear killing intent towards him scream.NvεlB¡n: Transforming Moments into Memories.

…

Rushing towards the light for what felt like an eternity as he constantly had to avoid the attacks of the people chasing after him, Xuan Hao could not help showing an expression of surprise after reaching the origin of the bright light that had pierced through the thick miasma of the Great Poison Swamp.

"A disc… No, a portal!?" Exclaiming in surprise as he saw large disc made of light, Xuan Hao did not take long to realize that the thing in front of him was not a disc of light, but was instead a portal leading to somewhere unknown.

To stay and fight or enter the unknown portal…

Stopping for only a short moment as he contemplated his options of staying to fight an almost certain losing battle or get a chance to leave without entering a life and death battle with a group of unknown Soul Ascension Realm Experts, Xuan Hao did not hesitate to enter the disc shaped portal made up of light-

SWISH-!

However, just as he was about to step through the portal, a spear of dark blue light more than a hundred meters in length exploded forth with all its might only a short distance away from him.

"This-!?"

Seeing the massive dark blue spear erupt with a power that had already surpassed the normal level of a Soul Ascension Realm Expert, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine as the dark spear easily managed to pierce through the outer layer of his domain before heading towards him at a speed far surpassing that of the earlier attack.

Even if the speed of the spear condensed from a dark blue light still had to go through his domain to reach him, Xuan Hao understood very well that there was no way for him to prevent it from reaching him. The power of the spear had far exceeded anything he could deal with and couldn't be compared to the power of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts he had faced so far.

From the strength of the attack, it was obvious that it did not originate from any of the people chasing after him… But instead an artifact that had been able to store the attack of a powerful expert that had surpassed the first level of the Soul Ascension Realm!

Crack~!

Feeling his domain starting to show sign of breaking as the spear continued heading towards, Xuan Hao quickly moved back towards the disc shaped portal of light. Understanding very well that there would be no other way for him to avoid the spear-

Swish~!

Just before the spear reached him, Xuan Hao could not help letting out a sigh of relief inside his head as he managed to step through the disc shaped portal of light before feeling a strange power engulf him and twist the space around him.

At this moment, Xuan Hao realized that the disc shaped portal was not a portal but the disc of light was instead some kind of ancient teleportation artifact. Meaning… It would take some time before he would be able to escape from his current precarious situation!

"DAMNIT! EXPLODE!"

Because of this, just before he was teleported away, a loud roar filled with killing intent echoed out in his ears followed by the massive spear made up of dark blue light still a short distance away from him suddenly condensing into a small ball of extremely concentrated energy.

The short moment that it would take for the ancient teleportation artifact to activate, had obviously ended up giving his opponent a bit more time!

"Not go-"

BOOOOOOOM-!

Not even managing to say anything more, Xuan Hao suddenly saw the small ball dark blue ball of light that contained all the energy of the massive spear explode-

Ptsh!

Even trying to block the powerful energy with his domain, Xuan Hao could barely hold on for a second before his domain was pushed back. Injuring his soul in the process.

Not only that, but the power that was in the process of teleporting him was also affected to some degree as the space around the ancient teleportation artifact was messed up by the explosion. Even the strange power in the miasma that covered the Great Poison Swamp had momentarily been pushed back by the terrifying explosion!

Riiiiip~!

Feeling the space getting torn apart by the strange power inside the ancient teleportation artifact, Xuan Hao could not help praying that the location he appeared would not be too affected by the scrambling of space that had occurred around the disc of light.

Swish~!

However, at the end of the day, Xuan Hao did not have much of a choice, as he let himself get sucked into the tear in space created by the ancient teleportation artifact without any resistance.

Knowing very well that staying behind would be the same as certain death. Especially considering that at least of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts had gone all out to kill him before he could escape through the ancient teleportation artifact…

"NOOOOO-!"

Hearing the now familiar roar filled with killing intent just before he was sucked into the tear in space created by the ancient teleportation artifact, Xuan Hao could not help smiling to himself as he made sure to remember the presence of the owner of the voice. Wanting to make sure that he could repay him for all the care he had shown him just now…

At the same time, Xuan Hao also prepared himself to possible have to fight for his life on the other side of the tear in space that he had been sucked inside of. After all, the space had been messed up quite a lot by the explosion and it was almost certain that he would not end up in the location that the ancient teleportation artifact had intended to send him!

Report chapter Comments

Bang!

Landing on the ground after having passed through the gap in space created by the ancient teleportation artifact, Xuan Hao looked around himself and could not help letting out a sigh of relief after discovering that there weren't any powerful demon beasts or other dangers around him.

Instead, the only thing around him was the all too familiar miasma and the swampy ground beneath his feet. The only change from the swamp he had been in just a second ago, was that the miasma around him was far thicker and more powerful. Preventing his divine sense from moving more than a few dozen meters away from his body before being corroded by the miasma.

Whoosh~!

Not thinking too much about the miasma after determining that he was not in danger, Xuan Hao used his domain to create a barrier around himself before focusing on the injuries he had received from the dark blue spear exploding before he had managed to cross through the tear in space created by the ancient teleportation artifact.

"Hah... The power of that explosion from earlier really was too powerful. Even if only a small part of the power contained inside that spear managed to reach me before I got away, it still managed to injure me to this degree..."

Looking over his injuries through his divine sense, Xuan Hao could not help letting out a sigh before closing his eyes and focusing on recovering.

Given that he had arrived in an unknown location that might be far more dangerous than the core region of the Great Poison Swamp, it was best to first recover from his injuries before he started exploring his surroundings.

At the very least most of the injuries he had received were not too bad and he should be able to recover back to full strength in less than an hour!

...

"Where is this place? I clearly remember approaching the bright light before I suddenly lost consciousness again..."

At the same time Xuan Hao was quietly recovering from the injuries he had received, the young boy who had having been transported to a place filled with corpses of powerful demon beasts, was looking around himself filled with confusion.

Just a second ago, he had approached the light that pierced through the thick miasma covering the Great Poison Swamp and then... He once again lost consciousness before waking up in a completely unfamiliar place that could barely be seen through the thick miasma that was present everywhere around him.

"Why is the miasma so thick!? I can't even see where I am- Hm? Why am I getting so dizzy all of a sudden...?"

Not able to see more than a few centimeters in front of him due to the thick miasma, the young boy was about to take a step forward when he suddenly felt everything around him spinning before his breathing started getting erratic.

"The poison in the mist is also stronger!?"

Not taking more than a split second to realize what was happening to him after feeling what was happening to his body, the young boy began panicking as he clumsily reached into a small bag hanging by his waist before taking out a small green pill that he quickly swallowed.

Soon after eating the green pill, the young boy felt his breathing growing stable again before he felt that the poison affecting his body had been dealt with by the green pill.

"That was dangerous... If not for the detoxification pills Elder Proud Bear gave us before we entered the Great Poison Swamp, I would not have been able to resist the poison of the miasma!" Muttering this to himself as he felt grateful for the pills Elder Proud Bear had handed to him and the other two, the young boy's expression soon took a turn for the worse as he glanced back down into the small bags with the pills inside of it.

Elder Proud Bear said that a single detoxification pill should last between one or two hours depending on how powerful the poison is... And I only have four left, I should really find a way out of this place as quickly as possible!

Feeling a frown slowly making a way onto his face as he realized this, the young boy did not dare waste any time as he quickly began moving in one direction-

Bang!

"Ouch!"

However, he did not manage to make it more than a few meters before he suddenly crashed into a wall covered in all sorts of ancient symbol that shone with a barely visible light.

"This... I'm inside a room!?"

However, the young boy completely ignored the ancient symbols, as he was instead more focused on the fact that he found himself inside a room.

Did the Great Poison Swamp have ruins...?

Filled with confusion as he looked at the stone wall in front of him filled with all sorts of ancient symbols, the young boy tried his best to remember everything he had learnt about the Great Poison Swamp before having come for the core disciple promotion test.

Wait... Isn't the core region of the Great Poison Swamp said to be connected to the dangerous ruins of an ancient sect just next to the Great Poison Swamp!?

Feeling a shiver go down his thought as he remembered that the ruins of an ancient sect that were located just next to the Great Poison Swamp, the young boy could not help shivering all over as he looked at the wall in front of him filled with fear.

The reason for this reaction was normal. After all, the ancient sect ruins located next to the Great Poison Swamp, was a place that even Soul Ascension Realm Experts feared. For a small Core Formation Realm cultivator like himself, it would mean certain death to enter such a location!

"I have to get out of here..."

Standing frozen for what felt like hours as he realized just how much danger he was in, the young boy managed to calm himself down as he slowly began moving along the wall of the room to hopefully find a way outside where he hoped that he would be able to find a path out of the place he now found himself inside of.

"Hm? A door!"

Not more than a few seconds after he had began feeling along the wall for a way out, he felt the handle of a door.

Creak~

Not wasting any time, he pulled on the handle and opened the door before making his way outside the room he found himself inside of. Soon smiling happily after noticing the miasma had grown thinner. Allowing him to see a few meters in front of him instead of a few centimeters.

Thump! Thump! Thump!NvεlB¡n: Transforming Moments into Memories.

However, the happiness he felt from being able to see more soon disappeared when he heard the loud sound of heavy footsteps slowly approaching from the distance.

Whoosh~!

Even without knowing what was approaching him, the young boy still understood very clearly that it would be best to hide, as he silently dashed towards a small crate just next to the door he had just left the room behind him through.

Thump!

At the same time that he heard the heavy footsteps stopping just beside the door leading inside the room he had appeared inside of, the young boy had already hidden inside the crate next to the door.

"..."

Silently peeking through a small hole inside the crate, the young boy felt a shiver run down his spine upon seeing the origin of the heavy footsteps he heard.

Standing more than three meters tall, a large shadowy figure barely visible to him through the thick miasma stood silently in front of the door to the room he had been inside of just a second ago.

Even if he could not clearly see the features of the shadowy figure, part of him felt certain that the figure in front of him was not human.

Creak~!

Hearing as the shadowy figure slowly opened the door before entering the room, the young boy felt his heart drop upon realizing that the shadowy figure had mostly arrived due to him appearing inside the small room.

Should I try to escape before it gets back outside?

Hesitating for only a short moment as this thought passed through his head, the young boy silently slipped out of the crate he was hiding inside of after seeing the door to the room that the shadowy figure had entered slowly closing.

Swish~

Doing his best to remain silent, the young boy quickly began moving away from the door and the room he had just been inside of. Not wanting to be anywhere near the place when the shadowy figure discovered that there wasn't anyone inside the room it had just entered.

Beneath him, the young boy noticed that there was no muddy land like everywhere inside Great Poison Swamp. Instead, it was a paved stone road. Further confirming the fact that he was indeed not inside the Great Poison Swamp any longer!

Report chapter Comments

Running along the paved stone path as he did his best to not make too much sound, the young boy could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine upon spotting several large shadowy figures a few dozen meters away from him through the mist.

Thump! Thump Thump!

Listening to the loud footsteps as these large shadowy figures moved slowly through the miasma, the young boy had unknowingly come to a stop, as he fearfully observed the large shadowy figures slowly disappearing back into the miasma again.

"They are moving in the direction of the room I came in from…?" Muttering this to himself as he realized the direction of the large shadowy figures, the young boy felt even more anxious and quickly began moving in the opposite direction of the shadowy figures once again.

In the back of his mind, he had a feeling that if he did not manage to leave the ancient ruins he now found himself inside of, he would soon have to face the shadowy figures that had just passed by him!

Even if the shadowy figures had not attacked him or even turned around to look towards him, it had to be know that the young boy could very clearly feel a terrifying aura far stronger than even the dead demon beasts he had encountered when he had been teleported to the core region of the Great Poison!

No matter what, he was not dumb enough to believe that he would be able to fight with these shadowy figures just because he had managed to avoid getting detected by them. For all he knew, the reason he had managed to escape, could be because the shadowy figures simply didn't care about him at the moment. After all, there would really be no way for him to escape if they were as strong as he believed them to be from what he had sensed so far…

Whoosh~

Increasing his speed as he decided to take a risk of not being as quite as before, the young boy was excited to discover that the shadowy figures walking past him still ignored him.

Whoosh-!

Knowing that he would not get attacked by the shadowy figures along the path, the young boy quickly increased his speed even further before going as fast as his current cultivation base and movement technique could handle.

"This miasma is receding!"

Continuing along the paved stone path for a few minutes like this while ignoring all of the shadowy figures moving past him, the young boy could not help smiling excitedly after realizing that the miasma around him had slowly started to grow thinner.

At this point in time, he could already see over a dozen meters around him without any difficulties. Allowing him to see some of the ancient buildings located on the side of the massive road he was moving along-

"This… What in the world are those things!?" Unconsciously slowing down as he fearfully muttered this to himself, the young boy could not help shivering fearful while looking towards the tall shadowy figures.

After the miasma grew thinner. Not only did he grow capable of seeing more of his surroundings, but he also grew capable of seeing through some of the shadowy mist that covered the over three-meter-tall figures moving in the opposite direction of himself.

Different from what he expected, what was hidden beneath the shadowy mist in the shape of a three-meter-tall humanoid figure was not a puppet or golem like he had first expected, but was instead a mass of different coloured snakes that had been gathered together into the shape of a three meter tall humanoid figure!

Not only this, but each of the snakes gave off an aura comparable to Elder Proud Bear… Of course, the individual aura of these snakes was not what shocked the young boy the most. Instead, it was the fact that the aura seemed to combine together and gathered the power of the mass of snakes together!

"…"

Even if the young boy had seen quite a lot before, he had no idea how to react to the reality behind the powerful shadowy figures…

At first, he had been scared by what he saw… But after some time, he grew confused as he looked at the shadowy snake humanoid… puppets? Golems? Eh… Snake people…? Moving past him.

Part of him began to wonder where the snakes were moving, as he felt himself suddenly wanting to turn back and see what the snakes were up to-

"Hm?"

However, this dangerous thought was quickly purged the moment he felt his vision suddenly darkening again before feeling a familiar weakness spreading through his entire body.

"The poison from the miasma!? It's only been a little over 10 minutes! It should have at least lasted for one to two hours!"

Quickly taking out another detoxification pill before swallowing it, the young boy no longer thought about finding out what the snakes were up to, as he continued along the paved stone road with a clear look of desperation on his face.

Given how large of an area the ancient sect ruin covered, the young boy understood very well just how difficult it was for him to leave with the little over half an hour of time he had left with the remaining three detoxification pills.

For this reason alone, he even started increasing his speed beyond his own limit. Not caring much about the backlash he would inevitably end up suffering because of this. After all, if he could not make it out in time before he ran out of detoxification pills, he would not just suffer a backlash, he would die!

…

"Hm?"

Opening his eyes still surrounded by thick miasma, Xuan Hao could not help showing a surprised expression on his face after feeling that his injuries had all been completely healed in less than half an hour.

Originally, he had thought it would at least take him an hour to recover from the injuries he had received, but when he started healing his injuries, he discovered that the nascent sword soul inside his dantian could actually help speed up the process by acting as a weaker second soul. Allowing him to heal more than one injury at a time!The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

Even if it was far slower compared to him doing it himself, it had still allowed him to recover almost twice as fast as he originally thought he would due to it taking care of the more easy to handle injuries…

"Now… To figure out where I am…" Looking around himself as he quietly said this, Xuan Hao could not help narrowing his eyes upon discovering that the miasma around him had actually grown far thinner compared to before.

If he could only cover an area of a few dozen meters around him before. Now he could easily cover an area of over a thousand meters with his divine sense! Allowing Xuan Hao to get a better grasp of his surroundings.

Not too far away from where he had been recovering, Xuan Hao discovered that the swampy ground came to an end before a purplish green plain began.

"Purple Poison Grass…?"

Seeing the purple green grass, Xuan Hao instantly managed to find out the name of the grass growing in front of him from the information he had been given by the system when he became an Artisan Alchemist.

According to this information, the Purple Poison Grass was not only a rare kind of spiritual herb used in all sorts of poisonous potions and pills, but it could only be found in small patches covering a few dozen meters.

But… In front of him was an entire plain filled with Purple Poison Grass!

Even without knowing how large this plain was due to the miasma still preventing his divine sense from expanding more than a few thousand meters around him, it was simply unimaginable how much the Purple Poison Grass in front of him was worth!

"…"

Feeling something, he had never felt before when he looked towards the Purple Poison Grass that was just sitting there free for the taking, Xuan Hao took out an empty interspatial ring before spreading out his domain to cover the beginning of the Purple Poison Plain in the distance.

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

Soon enough, a small river of Purple Poison Grass formed mid-air before flowing towards Xuan Hao and entering the empty interspatial ring that was now floating in the air in front of him.

"Ah… I still need to figure out where I am!"

Feeling that the interspatial ring floating in front of him had been completely filled up with the Purple Poison Grass, Xuan Hao quickly put it away before turning his attention back towards his current situation.

Even if he had saved some time on recovering, he could not waste too much time waiting around in case the Soul Ascension Realm Experts that had chased after him showed up. Although… Collecting a few tons of Purple Poison Grass that would be useful for Qing Yi and the alchemists of the Star Shattering Sect wouldn't hurt anyone…

Report chapter Comments

Having put away the interspatial ring now filled to the brim with Purple Poison Grass, Xuan Hao turned his attention back towards the plain filled with the poisonous grass in front of him.

Even after he had filled up an entire interspatial ring with Purple Poison Grass, the plain itself did not seem to show much of a change other than a small empty patch located around the edge of it where Xuan Hao had taken the Purple Poison Grass from.

"Hm?"

However, when looking towards the small patch where he had forcefully pulled up the poisonous spiritual grass from, Xuan Hao could not help frowning after noticing thousands upon thousands of snakes slithering around on the ground that was now completely barren.

Even when he had pulled out the Purple Poison Grass from the ground, he had not noticed the fact that there was so many snakes hiding beneath the poisonous grass. From this, it was obvious that they had some way to avoid his divine sense... Not only that, but all the snakes below him had actually reached the Nascent Soul Realm!

Just the small spot Xuan Hao had emptied of Purple Poison Grass had hidden away tens of thousands of these snakes, as for the entire plain... There were easily millions of snakes!

No matter what, Xuan Hao could not help feeling confused as to why there would be so many Nascent Soul Realm snakes present beneath the poisonous grass. In the first place, how did so many snakes even manage to reach the Nascent Soul Realm in the first place?

Swish~!

As he was looking towards the snakes slithering around on the ground below filled with confusion, the sound of something piercing through the air could be heard in the distance before a large shadowy figure soon appeared at the edge of Xuan Hao's divine sense rushing directly towards him.

"A snake... ball? Humanoid? Eh... I don't even know..." Muttering this to himself as he looked towards the shadowy figure, Xuan Hao had no idea how to describe what was hidden beneath the shadowy mist that gave the shadowy figure its humanoid shape.

As for preparing to fight the incoming shadowy figure? Xuan Hao did not really care too much about this, as even after all the snakes forming the shadowy figure had combined their strength, they had only barely reached a level comparable to the Fourth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm.

With Xuan Hao's current strength, the shadowy figure that barely had enough strength to be comparable to someone in the Fourth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, did not pose the slightest bit of threat to the current Xuan Hao!

Whoosh~!

Bang!

Watching as the shadowy figure got within a few hundred meters of him before it gathered its strength together to launch an attack towards him, Xuan Hao simply used his to engulf the shadowy figure before directly crushing it. Not allowing the snakes on the inside to resist for even a second!

"How weird... None of the snakes seem to have any soul inside them. Almost like they are already dead..."

Frowning to himself as he looked towards the place where the shadowy figure had just been destroyed by him, Xuan Hao soon turned his attention towards the snakes slithering around below him.

Different from the snakes that had been inside the shadowy figure, Xuan Hao could tell at a glance that the soul inside the snakes slithering around below was still intact.

Do the snakes lose their souls after they transform into the shadowy figures?

Thinking this to himself, Xuan Hao could not help feeling even more curious about where he had ended up being teleported by the ancient teleportation artifact.

The only thing he understood about his new location so far, was that he should either be in some kind of special area that was located inside the Great Poison Swamp, or in the worst-case scenario, somewhere inside the dangerous ruins of the ancient sect located right next to the Great Poison Swamp.

"Hm?"

However, just at this moment, Xuan Hao saw a new quest appearing in front of him from the system that had remained inactive for quite some time.

[Side Quest: Escape]

[Description: Explore the ruins of the long-forgotten sect in front of you and look for a way to escape before dying.]

[Reward: Staying alive, Great Poison Scripture]

Looking at the quest that had appeared after a long time, Xuan Hao had no idea what to say.

At least from the quest's description, he could tell that he had indeed been teleported inside the dangerous area that contained the ruins of an ancient sect and the fact that he would die if he did not escape from the place in time.

Not only that, but the quest had also clearly stated that he would have to explore the ruins of the ancient sect, that should be located somewhere on the other side of the plain filled with snakes and poisonous grass, to find a way out.

Whoosh-!

Not wasting any time after understanding that his life was in danger even according to his usually lazy system, Xuan Hao didn't cast a second glance towards the snakes on the ground below as he flew over the poisonous grass plain towards the ancient sect ruins that should be located at the end of the plain.

...

Wha- What in the world are those snakes doing all of a sudden!? Why did all of them suddenly start moving around so frantically!?

At the same time Xuan Hao killed the shadowy figure made up of snakes, the young boy who had been trying his best to leave the ruins he found himself inside of, could not help shivering all over when he suddenly saw the calm shadowy figures getting chaotic.

NvεlB¡n: Transforming Moments into Memories.

Swish~!

BOOOOM-!

Seeing a weird green cloud of air fly past him while only narrowly missing him before exploding into an inferno more than powerful enough to kill him, the young boy could not help shivering even more violently as he wondered what had caused all of the shadowy figures to behave so chaotically all of a sudden.

Everything was fine just a second ago! Could it be something happened at the place where they are all moving...?

At this point in time, the young boy had already realized that the shadowy figures should not be going to the same location as where he had showed up and should be going somewhere different. After all, if they were really all moving to the place where he had appeared to search for him, he was certain that they would have already realized he was missing and would have come to catch him.

For this reason, the young boy had concluded that the shadowy figures were moving somewhere different deeper inside the ruins.

As for why they ignored him... He had no idea. Not that he was one to complain about this in the first place...

Boom-boom-boom!

Hearing more and more explosions going off in the distance, the young boy could not help pushing himself to increase his speed just a little further to try and escape the dangerous ruins as quickly as possible. Wanting nothing more than to get out of the dangerous ruins and reunite with his senior brother and senior sister again.

"Ah?"

Just at this moment, the young boy felt several terrifying auras engulfing his body from afar. Instantly making him come to a stop as all colour drained from his face.

I'm dead!

Only able to think this as he felt the terrifying auras wash over him, the young boy had already resigned to his death after feeling the power contained in those auras.

Even if he had no idea what kind of realm the auras belonged to, the young boy had once seen the sect master of his sect in person and even he was inferior to these auras!

It had to be known, that his sect master was someone who had already reached the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm. For the auras to be even above such a person, the young boy could only think of a realm that he had never seen before and could only dream of reaching. The Soul Ascension Realm!

If he was not wrong, the auras that had engulfed him belonged to someone who had reached the Soul Ascension Realm!

Swish-!

Swish-!

Swish-!

Hearing the sound of the wind being torn apart, the young boy trembled violently as he saw several black shadow passing by him before disappearing from sight the next second.

Even if he did not see them clearly, the young boy clearly realized that the terrifying auras he had just felt a second ago belonged to the black shadows that had just rushed past him before disappearing.

"J-just what in the world happened...?"

Unknowingly muttering this to himself as he looked in the direction that the black shadows had disappeared in, the young boy remained silent for the next few minutes before finally working up enough courage to continue along the path. Doing his best not to think too much about what happened and instead focusing on escaping before he ran out of detoxification pills.

Report chapter Comments

"This should be the start of the ancient ruins that the system quest mentioned…" Having travelled over the plain of poisonous grass, Xuan Hao could not help opening both of his eyes wide as he looked at the majestic buildings appearing in the distance.

Although a long time had passed since the ancient sect had been destroyed, the buildings still remained intact with minimal damage over the long passage of time. Looking even closer, a faint yet powerful ancient aura lingered around these ancient buildings.

Even if he could only see a small part of this once majestic ancient sect through the miasma, it was obvious that the size of the sect itself should cover an area far larger than that of the Great Poison Swamp itself!The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

After all, the area that the ancient sect ruins covered on a map was close to fifty times larger than the Great Poison Swamp that was located beside it! Even if most of this large territory was used for cultivation of spiritual herbs like the poisonous spiritual grass he had just flown over, the sect itself should not cover an area smaller than the area covered by the Great Poison Swamp!

Putting it into another perspective, the area covered by the Great Poison Swamp was around the same as the past Heavenly Sky Kingdom and the Azure Sky Kingdom combined!

It was easy to imagine just how many disciples and how powerful a sect that large would be…

Looking at the majestic buildings in front of him as he was slowly approaching this massive ancient sect that should have once been far more powerful than he could even begin to imagine, Xuan Hao narrowed both of his eyes as he prepared himself.

No matter what, after the fall of such a terrifying sect, it was obvious that the area around the sect itself had become an incredibly dangerous due to the many formations covering this place master and the myriad of other defensive mechanisms no longer having any master still being active to some degree even to this day.

Thinking about it more closely, the miasma that covered both the ruins of the ancient sect and the Great Poison Swamp should be one of these formations that had gone out of control after the fall of this ancient sect in the past!

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

"Hm?"

Just as he was at this moment when Xuan Hao had started to observe the miasma all around him more closely, three powerful auras appeared from the ancient sect ruins in front of him before three large shadows flew out and floated in the air a few hundred meters away from where he was standing.

Different from him who was still restricted by the strange power present inside the miasma, the three large shadows that had come to a stop could freely fly in the air without any difficulties. Allowing Xuan Hao to understand that the three shadows floating in the air in front of him should be part of some sort of defensive mechanism of the ancient sect.

More snakes!?

Inspecting the shadows that had come to a stop mid-air, Xuan Hao could not help frowning after realizing that the three shadows were similar to the shadowy figure he had encountered after filling up one of his interspatial rings with Purple Poison Grass.

However, different from the shadow figure that he had encountered at that time the three shadows floating in the air only a few hundred meters away from him gave off a far more powerful aura than the shadowy figure. Even Xuan Hao could not help frowning after feeling the power contained after the massive ball of snakes hidden inside the shadows had combined together.

"Even if they have not yet reached the Soul Ascension Realm, their strength should not be that far away from it… Facing three of these shadows filled with snakes, even a Soul Ascension Realm Expert would have a hard time!"

Rumble~!

Floating in the air in front of the air for a few short seconds, a terrifying aura exploded from the three shadows before all their auras combined together and formed thousands upon thousands of small green needles that all flew in the direction of Xuan Hao who was standing on the ground below!

Swoosh-!

Swoosh-!

Swoosh-!

Listening to the sound of the green needle piercing through the air as they flew towards him, Xuan Hao unsheathed his sword before gathering the power of his domain on his silver sword.

Not daring to hold back when faced with the combined attack of the three shadows in the shape of three large balls filled to the brim with snakes floating in the air above him, Xuan Hao directly executed the Earth Splitting Sword-

RUMBLE-!

As his attack met with the endless number of green needles, a loud rumbling sound followed by a terrifying shockwave instantly spread out in all directions.

Hissss!

Hissss!

Hissss!

With no way to defend themselves from the terrifying shockwave, the countless Nascent Soul Realm snakes hidden beneath the Purple Poison Grass were instantly killed by the shockwave.

BANG!

The ancient sect buildings on the other hand were not even scratched by the shockwave, the faint ancient aura still lingering around the majestic sect buildings completely negating it!

Whoosh-!

On the other hand, Xuan Hao and the three large shadows floating in the air were completely unaffected by the clash just now!

Looks like I will have to use something stronger than the Earth Splitting Sword if I want to defeat them!

Seeing that the Earth Splitting Sword had actually not managed to even reach the three shadows floating in the air above him, Xuan Hao understood that the combined strength of the three shadows should have already reached the Soul Ascension Realm. Maybe they were even a bit stronger when compared to the person who had been fighting back inside the core of the Thousand Wind Mountains!

Because of this, the only thing Xuan Hao could think of that would allow him to fight with them was his Descend of the Ice God's Sword. Although he did not know exactly how strong it was, it was stronger than the Earth Splitting Sword and should be able to at least allow him to land a hit on one of the three shadows filled with snakes… As long as he could deal with one of them, their strength should weaken, and it would be far easier for him to deal with the other two!

Boom!

Boom!

Just as he was about to try and use Descend of the Ice God's Sword, two terrifying auras similar to the three shadows floating in the air above him appeared from inside the ancient sect before rushing towards his direction.

Not good! If more of them show up and combine together, they will likely grow far too strong for me to fight!

Understanding that he would have no chance of winning if more balls of shadows filled with snakes showed up and combined together, Xuan Hao's eyes was filled with killing intent, as he looked towards the two shadows that appeared at the edge of his divine sense.

Swish-!

Not wasting a single second, Xuan Hao used all his strength to charge past the three shadows in the air just above the entrance to the ancient sect before arriving directly in front of the two shadows filled with snakes that were flying towards the three floating in the air above the entrance to the ancient sect.

BOOM-!

BOOM-!

Using all his strength, Xuan Hao managed to directly pierce through the black miasma and destroy all of the snakes inside before they had managed to put forth any defences! Having destroyed the two balls of snakes, he would now only have to deal with the remaining three floating above the entrance to the sect-

Wait, why didn't those three balls of snakes move…?

Feeling something was weird, Xuan Hao quickly turned towards the three balls of snakes hidden away by an eerie black miasma.

This!? When did three new shadows appear?!

However, when he turned his attention back towards them, Xuan Hao was horrified to discover that there was no longer only three balls of snakes covered in the eerie black miasma. Instead, there was now six of them!

Even worse, Xuan Hao could clearly feel that after their strength had combined together, they had already surpassed the strength of the Soul Ascension Realm Expert that had attacked him before he had managed to escape through the ancient teleportation artifact.

Although not on the same level as the spear made from dark blue light that had been thrown after him back then, Xuan Hao understood very well that it would only be a matter of time before that happened.

BOOM-!

BOOM-!

BOOM-!

The reason for this thought was simple, as Xuan Hao could now feel hundreds of auras similar to the shadows floating above the entrance to the ancient sect appearing from several all over the ancient sect that he could only see a small part of at this point in time!

"No wonder even those Soul Ascension Realm fear this place…"

Barely whispering these words to himself as he looked towards the six shadows floating above the entrance to the ancient sect, Xuan Hao no longer had any thought of fighting with them…

Report chapter Comments

Swish-!

Feeling the different shadows from all over the ancient sect heading towards him, Xuan Hao didn't dare stay around and continue to fight the shadows floating above the entrance to the ancient sect. Instead choosing to move deeper inside the ancient sect in search for a way out of his current situation.

In the back of his mind, Xuan Hao began to understand what the quest given to him by the system meant with him having to explore the ruins of the long-forgotten sect and look for a way to escape before dying.

If he really could not find a way to escape, the shadows approaching him from all directions really would end up killing him!

…

"Wha-what was that!?"

At the same time Xuan Hao entered the ancient sect ruins, the young boy who had been continuing along the paved stone road towards what he believed to be a way out of the ancient sect ruins, froze on the spot as he could clearly hear Xuan Hao clashing with the shadows in the distance.

Even if he tried his best not to show it, the young boy was extremely afraid deep down and the battle taking place in the distance only further increased the young boy's fear. Especially considering that he had just recently consumed his last detoxification pill and was running out of time before the poison inside the miasma would consume him like it had almost done when he first arrived at the ancient sect.

Although he had no idea what was happening, he did not take long to understand that the shadows he had seen passing by him just a few minutes earlier should be involved in the battle taking place in the distance.

Luckily the fighting is taking place in the opposite direction from where I'm going!

Letting out a sigh of relief as he thought this to himself, the young boy continued forward after without wasting a single second. After all, he at most had ten minutes left before the detoxification pill would lose its effect and the poison in the miasma would kill him!

Unfortunately for the young boy, he was unknowingly moving deeper and deeper inside the ancient sect without even knowing that he was nowhere near the entrance to the ancient sect that he thought he was going towards…

If Xuan Hao was there to observe the young boy as he moved along the paved stone road, he would long since have realized that the young boy was trapped in some sort of formation that slowly seemed to be guiding him deeper and deeper inside the ancient sect without his knowledge!

"This- A gate! Did I finally find a way out!?"

Just at this moment, the young boy who had spent over thirty minutes running on the paved stone road without seeing anything other than the majestic looking ancient buildings on either side of him could not help exclaiming in surprise after seeing a large gate appearing at the edge of his vision.

Swish-!

Soon enough, this surprise turned into happiness as the young boy charged toward the gate that appeared at the edge of his vision. Understanding very well that other than getting out of the ancient sect, he would also have to find a place where the mist was thin enough for someone like himself to survive without the help of the detoxification pill.

"Haha! It really is a gate leading outside!"

Arriving in front of the gate, the young boy could not help exclaiming full of happiness after discovering that there was a large flower field on the other side of the gate.

The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

Even if there was still miasma covering this large flower field, the young boy could clearly feel that the miasma on the other side of the gate was far weaker and should be something he would be able to endure even without the help of the detoxification pill!

Not hesitating for more than a few seconds, the young boy took a step forward and entered the flower field on the other side of the large gate-

Creak~!

Unaware of the fact that the gate behind him slowly closed after he entered before thousands upon thousands of demonic eyes appeared all over the gate. All greedily staring towards the young boy's back.

Whoosh~

"Hm? Did I sense wrong? I could have sworn I felt someone looking towards me just now…" Muttering this to himself as he turned around and looked towards the gate that had closed behind him in confusion, the young boy didn't think too much about it before continuing to move deeper inside the flower field. Believing that he had already left the ancient sect and was making his way out of the dangerous area that the ancient sect's ruins were located inside of.

As for worrying about the gate that had closed behind him… The young boy didn't even think about this, as to him, it still looked like the gate was open and he could make his way back 'inside' the ancient sect anytime he wanted to!

Of course, he would not do something like that even if he wanted to. After all, he had already run out of detoxification pills!

Like this, the young boy made his way deeper and deeper inside the flower field. Unaware of the fact that what he was walking through was not a flower field, but something completely different…

…

BOOM-!

Just how many of these things are there!?

Crushing a shadow that had suddenly appeared behind him and killing all of the soulless snakes inside Xuan Hao could not help frowning as he looked into the distance where close to a dozen similar shadows were flying towards him.

After he had entered the ancient sect and had begun exploring the place looking for a way to escape from the ancient sect ruins, he had not gotten more than a few seconds to himself before one of the shadows caught up to him and attacked him.

Although he could easily deal with a single one of them, doing so would buy enough time for more of them to show up and if he didn't leave fast enough, he would end up getting surrounded and killed by them when they combined their strength to attack him!

Considering all of this, Xuan Hao wanted to find the way out mentioned by the system as fast as possible. After all, other than having to constantly escape from the shadows that were trying their best to eliminate him, he also had to worry about any other dangers that might be present inside the ancient sect.

One of the things he was worried about, was where the shadows had come from, they had only been created recently through the snakes in the poisonous grass plain surrounding the ancient sect outside!

Bang!

"Hm?"

Just at this moment as he knocked another of the shadows flying into the distance, Xuan Hao narrowed both his eyes as he looked towards a large gate that appeared at the edge of his divine sense located in the middle of a paved stone road.

Even from a distance, Xuan Hao could clearly sense the massive formation that surrounded the area around this gate twisting the space around so one would always end up in front of the gate in the end.

"Although this formation had its core damaged, it should still have the power to deceive someone in the earlier stages of the Domain Lord Realm… If it was not damaged, I doubt I would have been able to even discover it!" Muttering this to himself as he was careful not to enter the massive formation surrounding the gate, Xuan Hao felt curious about the gate that was located in the middle of this massive formation.

Even if he was still far away from it, he could still clearly feel that the gate acted as a portal of some sort that was connected to another location inside the ancient sect ruins…

Is this perhaps the chance to escape the ancient sect ruins that the quest mentioned?

Thinking this to himself as he looked debated whether or not to enter the massive formation to take a closer look, Xuan Hao continued moving to avoid the shadows surrounding him.

BOOOOOOM-!

"This… Looks like I'm going to check out the gate…" Feeling a terrifying aura far surpassing even that of the spear of dark blue light that had been thrown after him when he escaped from the group of Soul Ascension Realm Expert suddenly erupting not too far away from him, Xuan Hao didn't dare waste even a single second as he entered the massive formation before moving towards the gate at the centre of it.

No matter how bad the situation on the other side of the gate in the centre of the formation was, it would almost certainly be better than having to fight with whatever creature was behind the terrifying aura he had just felt!

Swish-!

Not thinking too much after having come to a decision, Xuan Hao rushed towards the gate located at the centre of the formation…

Report chapter Comments

Whoosh~!

Entering the already crumbling ancient formation, Xuan Hao instantly felt the massive formation cantered around the gate trying to influence him to move towards the gate in question. Not that it really even mattered in the first place as Xuan Hao was already moving towards the gate to escape the terrifying creature heading in his direction…

"Hm? Something is weird about the gate…"

Getting closer to the gate located at the centre of the crumbling formation, Xuan Hao could not help frowning as he suddenly came to stop just in front of the gate before the frown slowly disappear from his face before being replaced by a shocked expression.

"The Dao of Corruption…?"

Almost whispering this to himself as his eyes remained focused on the gate now directly in front of him, Xuan Hao easily managed to grasp the faint presence of the Dao of Corruption that lingered around the gate itself.

Rumble~!

Just as Xuan Hao was about to investigate the gate more closely, the terrifying creature he had felt from earlier suddenly increased its speed.

Swish-!

Not daring to waste anytime to inspect the gate and find out where the familiar presence of the Dao of Corruption had come from, Xuan Hao directly passed through the portal that the gate had been constructed around before feeling space around him twisting like when he had used the ancient teleportation formation. Soon transporting him to a completely different location.

The only thing he could be sure of, was the fact that he should still be somewhere inside the ancient sect. After all, his quest was not completed after he passed through the portal and still showed that he had not yet escaped from the ancient sect…

"This place is indeed rather weird… But first I have to destroy the portal and prevent that creature from following me!"

Knowing that just passing through the portal would not be able to ensure his safety, Xuan Hao only glanced around his weird surroundings before turning his attention back towards the gate built around the portal that had led him to his current location.

BANG!

Not holding back in the slightest, Xuan Hao directly attacked the gate that had been covered in thousands upon thousands of demonic looking eyes at some point in time after he had walked through it.

Using the full power of his domain to forcibly crush the gate and mess up the space around it that kept the portal at its centre stable, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine after all the eyes covering the gate suddenly turned to look at him filled with killing intent-

Screech!

Not able to understand what was happening, a loud screeching sound suddenly echoed out from somewhere deeper inside the place he had just been transported to as the gate with the portal inside of it slowly started cracking apart under the constant attack of his domain from all sides.

However, a small screeching sound was far from enough to stop Xuan Hao in destroying the portal!

CRACK!

BOOOOOM-!

As the portal and gate filled with demonic eyes was directly crushed by his domain, Xuan Hao could not help letting out a sigh of relief. Understanding that he should have escaped from the terrifying creature on the other side of the portal.

SCREEEEEEEECH-!

Listening to the screeching that was far louder and now also carried a clear killing intent with it, Xuan Hao could not help smiling wryly as he had a feeling that he had just escaped one dangerous situation to end up in another…

At the very least, it seemed that the creature making the screeching sound was not as powerful as the creature on the other side of the portal and had not yet decided to attack him. That or the creature making the screeching sound was restricted by something and could not attack him at the moment…

Shaking his head as he thought about this, Xuan Hao decided to ignore the screeching in the distance for now as he instead began looking around himself to see where he had ended up.

"A flower field… No… Its just an illusion…" Muttering this to himself as he narrowed both his eyes, Xuan Hao slowly witnessed as the flowers all around him turned into weird tentacle like plants that stretched dozens of meters into the sky.

As for the ground beneath his feet, Xuan Hao slowly saw it turning into a purplish blue colour that looked eerily similar to the corrupted ground he had seen during his time inside the enlightenment space!

At least I know where the fait aura belonging to the Dao of Corruption came from…

Turning his attention towards the tall tentacle like plants stretching far into the air just a short distance away from him as he thought this, Xuan Hao focused his attention on the miasma that they slowly produced and released into the air around them.The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

So, this is where the miasma covering both the ancient sect and the Great Poison Swamp is coming from! To think the miasma was actually produced by a weird tentacle plant… But where does the restricting present inside the miasma come from if the miasma is produced here?

Finding out how the miasma itself was being produced, Xuan Hao could not help frowning as he realized that the strange restrictive force that had been inside the miasma both in the ancient sect and the Great Poison Swamp was actually not present inside the miasma currently floating around him!

On one side, he could now fly without having to worry about getting smashed into the ground, while on the other side, he now had to worry about how the strange restrictive force was merged together with the miasma before it was spread through out the ancient sect ruins and the Great Poison Swamp.

In the best case scenario, this was done by some sort of ancient formation that had been able to survive until this day with minimal damage having been done to it.

In the worst-case scenario… The restrictive force was a small part of an ancient cultivator's intent that had been manually added to the miasma by the cultivator! If that was really the case, then it was almost guaranteed that the ancient cultivator in question should be someone who had surpassed the Soul Ascension Realm.

As for why such an expert would stay inside the ruins of an ancient sect… Xuan Hao had no idea, his best guess was that it was for some sort of artifact or to recover in secret without being disturbed by anyone. If that was the case, the miasma, and the defensive mechanisms still active in the ancient sect ruins were more than capable of dealing with any of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts in the Sky Empire and the surrounding empires without standing out and attracting more powerful cultivators…

Feeling a shiver run down his spine as he let his thoughts wander while looking at the surrounding corrupted ground, Xuan Hao could not help wondering how all of this was connected to the Dao of Corruption.

If it truly was an ancient cultivator, was that cultivator someone who practiced the Dao of Corruption? Given what he had seen from the battle shown by the ancient book in the Thousand Wind Palace, Xuan Hao had a feeling that encountering an ancient cultivator proficient in the Dao of Corruption would not be that good of an experience…

"Hm? Someone actually came here before me… And it was actually someone who just recently broke through to the Core Formation Realm!?"

Constantly scanning his surroundings as he was deep in thought thinking about what to do next, Xuan Hao could not help opening both his eyes in surprise after suddenly noticing the faint remnant aura belonging to someone in the Core Formation Realm leading further inside the corrupted zone he found himself inside of.

Is this a trap?

Not able to believe that someone in the Core Formation Realm had actually been able to enter the ancient sect ruins and survive, Xuan Hao was filled with doubt as he approached the faint remnant aura before beginning to inspect it more in-depth.

However, even after closely inspecting the faint remnant aura, Xuan Hao could not discover anything off about it. All pointing towards the fact that a Core Formation Realm Expert had truly managed to enter ahead of him!

"This… Did a Core Formation Realm Expert really enter this place before me? Ah… Did that person perhaps use the ancient teleportation artifact that I used before it was messed with, or perhaps there is more than just one ancient teleportation artifact leading to the ancient sect ruins…"

Filled with disbelief at this realization, Xuan Hao quickly linked the appearance of the Core Formation Realm Expert so deep inside the ancient sect ruins together with the ancient teleportation artifact.

Indeed, if he could enter the ancient sect through an ancient teleportation artifact, so could others ahead of him!

Whoosh~!

Not wasting any time after determining that a Core Formation Realm Expert had indeed entered ahead of him, Xuan Hao jumped into the air and flew in the direction that the Core Formation Realm Expert had moved in.

Now that he no longer had to worry about the strange restrictive force in the miasma, he could once again use the Drifting Cloud Steps!

Report chapter Comments

At the same time Xuan Hao had passed through the portal leading to the large "flower field" that the young boy in the Core Formation Realm had entered ahead of him, the young boy in question had already made it quite far inside as he came to a stop in front of a massive palace that seemed to reach several hundred meters into the sky.

Earlier when he had been approaching this massive palace, the young boy had at first thought that it was a mountain given its sheer size. Only when he had made it all the way over to the massive palace did he realize that it was not a mountain…

"Why is there a palace inside a flower field?" Muttering this to himself as he looked up towards the tall towers attached to the palace that pierced through the clouds floating above, the young boy could not help feeling a sense of awe wash over him.

Even the palace of the strongest ancestor back in his sect did not have a palace the same size as the one in front of him. No… It would be more accurate to say that the difference between the two would be the difference between heaven and earth!

Given that the ancestor in question was someone who had already reached the Peak of the Domain Lord Realm, the young boy slowly realized that the massive palace in front of him had likely belonged to an even more powerful expert in the past… And that would be someone who had surpassed the Domain Lord Realm!

"This… Should I enter…?"

Feeling a shiver run down his spine after he realized that the massive palace in front of him had likely belonged to an expert who had reached the Soul Ascension Realm in the past, the young boy looked fearfully towards the massive gate of the palace that was wide open.The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

If not for the fact that a golden mist was covering the entrance and preventing him from seeing what was inside, the young boy would have likely not been able to stop himself from entering after seeing the many precious artifacts and spiritual herbs that would be present inside the palace of a Soul Ascension Realm Expert.

"Hah… What am I hesitating for? I have to take this opportunity that has appeared in front of me, who knows… Maybe it will allow me a straight path to the Soul Ascension Realm in the future!"

Standing around for only a few short seconds as he thought about whether or not to enter, the young boy showed a determined expression on his face before moving towards the golden mist that covered the entrance of the massive palace and prevented him from peeking inside without entering.

No matter what, the young boy understood just how important the inheritance of a Soul Ascension Realm Expert was. Not to mention the fact that he himself would have a chance at reaching the Soul Ascension Realm. The knowledge contained inside the inheritance of a Soul Ascension Realm Expert would be more than enough for him to use to increase his own status inside his sect slowly over time, while also making sure that the strength of his sect would get even stronger in the future!

After reaching the Soul Ascension Realm in the future, he would even be able to increase the foundation of his sect even more by recording the entire inheritance he had gained today together with his own Soul Ascension Realm foundation!

Whoosh~!

As he felt himself getting immersed in his own desires, aspirations and dreams, the young boy quickly reached the golden mist before easily passing through the golden mist without any problems.

The resistance that should be present in the golden mist that seemingly acted as a barrier to the massive palace was completely non-existent!

"This is!? Truly befitting of a palace that belonged to an Ancient Soul Ascension Realm Expert in the past!"

However, the young boy didn't seem to notice any of this, as he was instead filled with awe looking around the inside of the massive palace that was filled with spiritual herbs and powerful artifacts all around him.

After stepping inside, the young boy even felt his exhaustion disappearing and his dantian fully recover from the strain of having to constantly deal with the poison in miasma on the outside!

"Ah! The inheritance! I should get that first in case something happens!"

Having grabbed close to a dozen precious spiritual herbs and artifacts that a small Core Formation Realm Expert like himself would never be able to get their hands on, the young boy suddenly seemed to remember the most precious thing inside the massive palace.

Bang~

Bang~

Bang~

Making his way towards the core of the palace with a multitude of precious spiritual herbs and artifacts in his hands that couldn't fit inside his small interspatial ring, the young boy didn't even notice when some of the precious spiritual herbs or artifacts fell to the ground. Instead, he focused way more of his attention on grabbing any of the precious spiritual herbs or artifacts that he encountered along the way.

In the end, the young boy ended up forming a trail of precious spiritual herbs and artifacts behind him as he made his way deeper inside the massive palace. Heading towards the core of the palace filled with greed as he was already imagining himself learning the precious Soul Ascension Realm inheritance and using all the precious spiritual herbs to rapidly increase his cultivation base.

When I leave this place after learning the inheritance, I will have reached the Nascent Soul Realm. No… The Domain Lord Realm! Haha! I will become an elder and then the sect master after I break through to the Soul Ascension Realm!

Not knowing how unrealistic his thoughts were becoming along the way as his thoughts became filled with more and more desire to get his hands on the inheritance and rapidly improve his own strength all the way to Domain Lord Realm and directly reach the Soul Ascension Realm soon after, the young boy's expression slowly started getting twisted as the greedy expression on his face became evident for anyone around to see!

…

After the boy had entered the massive palace, Xuan Hao similarly arrived in front of the mountain like palace. The only difference was that instead of the awed expression that the young boy had when he saw the massive palace, Xuan Hao's expression was filled disgust as he looked at what could only be described as something that came straight out of a nightmare.

Instead of a palace, what Xuan Hao saw was a massive octopus like creature the size of a small mountain lying dead on the ground with its mouth wide open.

Filled with a profound sense of dread as he looked towards the weird octopus like creature, Xuan Hao could clearly feel the terrifying remnant aura of the creature that lingered around it.

"What in the world is this thing… The aura around it… A creature that comprehended the Dao of Corruption…?"

Almost whispering this to himself as he felt the clear presence of the Dao of Corruption that had imbued itself inside the aura and body of the dead creature in front of him, Xuan Hao could not help looking at the corrupted ground all around him.

So… The corrupted ground and the miasma covering both the ancient sect ruins and the Great Poison Swamp is a result of this dead body…?

Coming to this realization, Xuan Hao could not help shivering as he wondered just what realm the octopus like creature in front of him had reached when it had still been alive.

Had it reached the realm above the Soul Ascension Realm… Or had it gone even beyond that…? Xuan Hao had no idea, but one thing was for certain… The creature in front of him had definitely surpassed the Soul Ascension Realm when it had still been alive!

But… How come the Core Formation Realm Expert entered the mouth of this creature. Even if this creature has been dead for a long time, the remnant aura merged together with the Dao of Corruption is more than enough to pose a threat to someone in the Soul Ascension Realm, let alone someone in the Core Formation Realm… Does he perhaps have a death wish?

Thinking this to himself as he looked at the remnant aura left behind by the Core Formation Realm Expert leading towards the mouth of the mountain sized corpse in front of him, Xuan Hao could not help feeling confused as to what the Core Formation Realm Expert was thinking when entering the mouth of such a terrifying creature.

If he did not have a death wish, then what was it?

Whoosh~!

Not thinking about the reason for the Core Formation Realm Expert's decision for too long, Xuan Hao decided to follow after him and find out.

Even if the remnant aura of the mountain sized creature fused together with the Dao of Corruption would pose a threat to a normal Soul Ascension Realm Expert, this was not the case for Xuan Hao who had already comprehend part of the Dao of Corruption!

Report chapter Comments

Whoosh~!

Passing through the thin black veil that seemed to cover the mouth of the long dead mountain sized creature, Xuan Hao spread out both his divine sense and domain to their limit to be ready for a fight at any moment.

Even if the mountain sized creature had already been dead for thousands upon thousands of years at this point in time, the Dao of Corruption could give birth to all kinds of strange lifeforms when the presence of the dao was strong enough in a certain area.

Although Xuan Hao had only witnessed this once during his time in the enlightenment space, Xuan Hao still remembered those terrifying creatures wandering the endless corrupted land inside the enlightenment space for the Dao of Corruption!

Roar-!

Not long after he had passed through the black veil that covered the mouth of the long dead mountain sized creature, a roar echoed out from deeper inside the body. Confirming the fact that the presence of the Dao of Corruption was strong enough for it to start forming the strange and horrifying creatures he had seen back during his time in the enlightenment space…

"Looks like I will have to be careful when making my way deeper inside- Hm? Why is there a trail of body parts going in the same direction as that Core Formation Realm cultivator…?"

Narrowing both his eyes after hearing the roar coming from deeper inside the body of the dead creature, Xuan Hao could not help freezing for a few seconds after discovering a trail made up of all sorts of different body parts belonging to creatures of different races and the aura of the Core Formation Realm Expert both moving inside towards the core of the mountain sized dead body.

Given how old the body parts were, it was a bit weird for them to still be intact after such a long period of time. However after a quick scan with his divine sense, Xuan Hao discovered that most of the body parts belonged to cultivators who had at most reached the Peak of the Nascent Soul Realm, while the weakest had not even reached the Core Formation Realm!

From this alone, it was obvious that the body parts all over the place and the trail leading further inside the body of the mountain sized creature were new. Maybe they even belonged to cultivators in a similar situation as the Core Formation Realm cultivator that had ended up inside the mountain sized dead body!

Thinking about this, Xuan Hao could not help thinking about the roar he had heard just a few seconds ago. Although he could not tell the strength of the creature just from the roar alone, it was obvious that it had something to do with the body parts all over the ground. Perhaps it was even responsible for making the trail of body parts to lure in people like the Core Formation Realm Expert who had moved along the trail to go further inside the body towards the origin of the roar…

Maybe the Core Formation Realm Expert already reached the core of the dead body and is about to get eaten by the creature formed by the Dao of Corruption inside!

Swish-!

Not wasting any time as he began following the trail of body parts further inside after this though appeared, Xuan Hao really did not want to see the Core Formation realm Expert who had entered this place ahead of him to die.

The reason for this was not one out of simple good will, but was more due to the fact that he was really interested in finding out how the Core Formation Realm Expert had entered the Ancient Sect Ruins in the first place… If he was lucky, he might be able to get some idea about how to leave and get out of the ancient sect ruins alive!

After all, even if he had escaped from the terrifying creature that had suddenly appeared together with the shadows and his situation did not look dangerous on the surface, Xuan Hao understood very well that it was only a matter of time before the terrifying creature and the shadows managed to find a way to enter the place he was currently hiding inside of!

…

BOOOOM-!

At the same time Xuan Hao was stuck inside the ancient sect ruins and one of his disciples was still struggling to find his way back outside the mysterious realm he had found himself inside of, a massive battle was taking place between the soldiers of the Feather kingdom and the Star Shattering Sect.

The Feather Kingdom was one of the kingdoms that had bordered the Heavenly Sky Kingdom in the past and could only be said to be slightly stronger when compared to the Heavenly Sky Kingdom during its prime.

After the Star Shattering Sect started rapidly expanding over the past few weeks, the Feather Kingdom was inevitably one of the first to meet with the Star Shattering Sect as it tried expanding the territory under its control.

Normally, this would not have been a problem, as a kingdom at the size of the Feather Kingdom would have no way to resist against a terrifying sect like the Star Shattering Sect that had multiple experts in the Domain Lord Realm… But something that completely changed the situation happened- The ancestor of the Feather Kingdom broke through to the Domain Lord Realm!

It didn't matter whether it was the Star Shattering Sect or the surrounding kingdoms that were watching this battle from the side. Everyone had been caught completely off guard by the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom breaking through to the Domain Lord Realm.

However, this only lasted for a short moment, as Shu Yao ended up taking action to supress the other party.

Although both of them had reached the First Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, Shu Yao had far more experience and quickly managed to gain the upper hand in the battle… But the destruction brought along by a battle between two Domain Lords was simply not something that the people living at the border region at the Sky Empire had witnessed before!

Although the battle only lasted for a few minutes before Shu Yao managed to supress the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom, the destruction caused by the short battle had ended up destroying close to 10 percent of the Feather Kingdom and killed an uncountable number of people who had no way to resist the remnant power of two Domain Lord Realm Experts clashing with each other!

…

"ARGH! I FINNALY REACHED THE DOMAIN LORD REALM, YET I'M ABOUT TO DIE LIKE THIS!?"

In the air above a large desolate plain, the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom screamed loudly before looking towards the figure floating in the air not too far away from him filled with killing intent.

"You chose this yourself! Don't forget that we gave your Feather Kingdom the option to surrender, but you decided to start massacring the disciples of my Star Shattering Sect the moment you had broken through to the Domain Lord Realm!"

Frowning as both her eyes narrowed with killing intent, Shu Yao did not feel the slightest bit of pity towards the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom in front of her.

Even before they had attacked the Feather Kingdom, Elder Song had already proposed several different ways to solve the matter without having to go to war. From the Feather Kingdom becoming a subordinate power to them getting a few years to leave and take what they wanted with them to start a new kingdom somewhere else, Elder Song had tried all sorts of different options before it was decided that they would go to war with the Feather Kingdom for their territory.

At first, Shu Yao who was put in charge of the offensive against the Feather Kingdom had been confused as to why the Feather Kingdom had refused to surrender time and again no matter what… But when she realized that the ancestor of the Feather Sky Kingdom had actually reached the Domain Lord Realm, she understood why.

Even if he had just recently broken through to the Domain Lord Realm, he felt he was strong enough to resist the Star Shattering Sect's current expansion into his kingdom's territory and was even arrogant enough to start massacring the disciples of the Star Shattering Sect the moment he appeared.

Thinking that the Star Shattering Sect would not want to offend someone in the Domain Lord Realm over him killing a few disciples… Of course, he did not take into account the fact that Shu Yao would suddenly appear and almost instantly supress him. Even worse, her cultivation base was actually the same as his own!The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

"DAMN YOU-"

FWOOSH-!

Not wanting to drag things out with the already exhausted ancestor of the Feather Kingdom, Shu Yao directly created a massive fire lotus that quickly flew over and engulfed the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom before he had any time to react!

"AHHHHhhh-!"

Not able to resist the flames of the lotus fire with his domain for more than a few seconds, the ancestor of the Feather Kingdoms body and soul were directly reduced to ash!

The ancestor of the Feather Kingdom, A First stage Domain Lord Realm Expert, had died at the hands of Shu Yao... Thus marking the end of the war with the Feather Kingdom and signalling the true beginning of the Star Shattering Sects expansion to the surrounding kingdoms and sects!

Report chapter Comments

Continuing further inside the dead body of the mountain sized creature, Xuan Hao could not help coming to a stop when he reached the core of the body where the roar from the creature formed by the Dao of Corruption had originated from.

"This is... The Core Formation Realm Cultivator...?"

Not too far away from him, Xuan Hao speechlessly looked towards the Core Formation Realm Expert he had been tracking ever since passing through the gate covered in demonic eyes.

"Hahaha! The inheritance! Its mine! Haha!"

At this moment, the Core Formation Realm Expert in question, was laughing to himself filled with joy in front of a large heart in front of him, a small mountain of the body parts he had seen on his way over was placed next to him.

Does the Dao of Corruption have some kind of mind altering effects on those too weak to resist it...?

Not knowing what to say after seeing the weird behaviour of the Core Formation Realm Expert as he began bowing towards the long dead heart of the mountain sized creature while respectfully calling the dead heart master, Xuan Hao instead began focusing his attention on the roar he had heard when he had first entered the dead body.

No matter how much he wanted to approach the Core Formation Realm Expert to find out just what was happening for him to have started calling a dead heart master, Xuan Hao still understood that it was more important for him to find the creature created by the Dao of Corruption hidden somewhere inside the dead body.

Whoosh~!

As he focused all his attention on his divine sense to search for the creature that had been born through the Dao of Corruption, Xuan Hao made sure to imbue some aspects belonging to the Dao of Corruption that he had learnt during his time in the enlightenment space.

Although the aspects he attached to his divine sense did not strengthen his divine sense, it still helped it easily pass through the almost invisible miasma that had manifested after the presence of the Dao of Corruption grew strong enough.

ROOOAR-!

Not even a second after his divine sense spread out and covered the dead heart, the familiar roar echoed out across the hollowed out part of the dead body that the heart was located inside of.

Riiiip~!

Followed by a loud ripping sound, Xuan Hao narrowed both his eyes as he watched a large claw ripping open the dead heart before a large creature slowly crawled out while staring directly towards him filled with killing intent.

"Ahh~! Master! Great Immortal Master, please enlighten this little one!"

Roar?

Hearing the young Core Formation Realm Expert calling out to it the moment it crawled out of the heart; the creature showed an expression of confusion as it looked towards the young Core Formation Realm Expert already prostrating on the ground towards it filled with respect.

Swish-!

Not wasting this chance that the young Core Formation Realm Expert had unknowingly given him by distracting the creature that had crawled out from the dead heart, Xuan Hao used the Drifting Cloud Steps to instantly close the distance between himself and the creature born through the Dao of Corruption before slashing down towards it.

Ptsh-!

Not having any time to protect itself from the sudden attack other than raise its arms up to block the sword slashing down towards it, the creature felt its arms getting cleanly cut off before the power contained inside the sword exploded with full force-

BOOOOOOOM-!

ROOOOOOAR!

Only able to let out a roar filled with pain; the creature managed to survive the impact before it was sent flying into fleshy walls that surrounded them-

Bang-!

However, although the creature they were inside of had long been dead, the power residing inside its dead body was still terrifying, causing the creature Xuan Hao had knocked flying to only barely pass through the fleshy wall that surrounded the hollow space that the dead heart was located inside of and entering another of the mountain sized dead creature's organs.

Swish-!

Not even sparring a glance towards the Core Formation Realm Expert on who had been lucky enough to survive due to all the power of his attack being focused on the creature born through the Dao of Corruption, Xuan Hao directly used the Drifting Cloud Steps as he followed after the creature. Not intending to give it a chance to recover from the injurie he had just inflicted.

Even if it was just for a moment, Xuan Hao had already realized that the aura around the creature had already reached the Soul Ascension. If he gave it a chance to recover, he might end up being the one getting killed!

...

Following the Soul Ascension Realm Creature, Xuan Hao could not help narrowing both his eyes as he looked down towards what could only be described as a massive lake filled with some sort of bobbling green liquid.

This is... The stomach!?

Feeling a profound terror when looking down towards the bobbling green liquid below him, Xuan Hao could clearly feel that he would not be able to survive for more than a few seconds if he fell into the lake below.

ROOOOAR-!

As if to confirm his fear, the Soul Ascension Realm Creature that he had knocked flying emerged from the bobbling green liquid with half its body gone and the rest of it slowly dissolving due to some of the green liquid still being present on its body.

Swish-!

Dashing forward before launching another attack after having recovered from the shock of seeing the terrifying effect of the green liquid below, Xuan Hao did not intend to kill the creature on his own but was instead trying to knock the creature back into the green liquid below. After all, why bother fighting a long and exhausting battle with a Soul Ascension Realm creature born through the Dao of Corruption, when he could just use the stomach acid of the long dead mountain sized octopus like creature to kill it...

BANG-!

Manging to react this time around, the creature used its claws to block Xuan Hao's sword-The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

Whoosh~!

But in the end, both of them were knocked back by the impact of the clash, Xuan Hao being knocked into the fleshy walls of what remained of the stomach, while the Soul Ascension Realm creature was once again sent flying into the green liquid below-

Splash~!

RoOOOoooAaaaAAaAR!

Hearing the pained roar coming from below him, Xuan Hao quickly floated down before hovering in the air above the place where the creature had fallen into the green liquid lake. Intending to knock it back down the moment it tried to escape!

Bang!

Splash~

Not even having to wait for more than a few seconds before this happened, Xuan Hao ended up knocking the Soul Ascension Realm Creature back into the green liquid lake once again-

Roaaaaar-!

Causing yet another pained roar to echo out across the normally quiet interior of the mountain sized dead body.

...

R-r-rooaar...

Listening as the roaring from the creature slowly stopped as its body finally couldn't keep recovering in the green liquid, Xuan Hao could not help letting out a sigh of relief as he felt a hint of fear when looking down towards the terrifying lake below him.

At this point in time, he had begun to understand just how powerful the mountain sized dead creature had been when it was still alive. Even after countless years had passed, what little remained of its stomach acid still had enough power to dissolve a Soul Ascension Realm Expert!

Just how powerful was this creature when it was still alive? The realm above the Soul Ascension Realm... Or maybe even above that!

Shaking his head as he thought this to himself, Xuan Hao realized just how weak he was when compared to the ancient creature. Even if he reached the Soul Ascension Realm, he would mostly not stand a chance against the mountain sized octopus like creature when it had still been alive!

Not to mention, the mountain sized octopus like creature had still been killed in the end!

I still have a long way to go before I can consider myself safe in this world... I should focus on reaching the Soul Ascension Realm as soon as possible and see if there is a way to help my disciples increase their strength faster!

Narrowing his eyes as he felt an unknown sense of pressure when faced with the mountain sized ancient creature that had long since died, Xuan Hao felt more determined than ever to break through and reach the Soul Ascension Realm.

Even if he would not be able to face a creature like the one, he was currently inside of. At the very least he would feel confident in staying safe inside the borders of the Sky Empire!

Whoosh~!

Not staying around the dangerous lake of green liquid inside the stomach for much longer after having confirmed that the creature had dissolved and was completely dead, Xuan Hao made his way back towards the hollowed out space where the Core Formation Realm Expert was located.

Report chapter Comments

Shortly after Xuan Hao had begun his fight with the creature that had crawled out from the dead heart located at the centre of the small hollowed out part of the mountain sized dead creature, the young boy in the Core Formation Realm slowly got back up as he looked around himself filled with horror.

"Wha-what is this place!?"

Almost screaming this to himself as he looked at the dead heart in front of him and the mountain of body parts next to him, the young boy could not comprehend where the precious spiritual herbs, artifacts and the Soul Ascension Realm inheritance had gone.The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

BOOOM-!

ROOOOAR!

Jus at this moment as he was looking around himself trying to comprehend what had happened to him, a loud explosion followed by a roar filled with killing intent echoed out from a hole in the fleshy wall not too far away from him.

Even if it was just for an instant after hearing the roar filled with killing intent, the young boy clearly understood that the one responsible for the roar was far stronger than him!

I... I have to get out of here!

Still not knowing how he had ended up in his current location, the young boy could only think about getting away from the dead heart and the fighting that was taking place not too far away from him. Not wanting to get caught up in the battle that should be between a powerful cultivator and a demon beast.

Whoosh-!

Ignoring the fact that he had been covered in blood from head to toe at some point, the young boy made his way towards the entrance to hollowed out space with the dead heart inside of it.

Just where did I end up...

Still filled with fear as he cautiously made his way through the weird tunnels covered in flesh all around him, the young boy could not help shivering in fear as he finally reached a large wall made of black miasma

"This should be the way out..." Muttering this to himself as he encouraged himself that he was on the right path, the young boy ignored the dead body parts on the ground all around him as he passed through the wall of black miasma-

"Ahhh-!"

Not even a second later, the fearful scream of the young boy echoed out across the corrupted land all around him, as he saw the mountain sized dead body who's mouth he had just walked out of!

...

"Hm? It seems like the Core Formation Realm Expert managed to break the illusion created by the Dao of Corruption..."

Arriving back inside the hollowed-out space where the dead heart was located after having killed the Soul Ascension Realm creature that had been born through the Dao of Corruption, Xuan Hao could not help showing a surprised expression on his face after realizing that the Core Formation Realm Expert had disappeared.

All things considered, the fact that the Core Formation Realm Expert had managed to break through the illusion he had been trapped inside of, was most likely due to the fact that the presence of the Dao of Corruption around him had been pushed back for a short moment when Xuan Hao had first knocked the Soul Ascension Realm creature into what had once been the stomach of the mountain sized dead creature...

In any case, it would be easy for him to catch up with a little Core Formation Realm Expert with his current cultivation realm.

Swoosh-!

Having locked on to the trail left behind by the Core Formation Realm Expert, Xuan Hao did not waste any time as he chased after him. Soon finding himself back outside the mountain sized dead body he had been inside of, with the Core Formation Realm Expert he had been searching for having fallen to the ground with a face full of fear while looking up towards the mountain sized creature.

Even from a glance, it was obvious to Xuan Hao that the Core Formation Realm Expert should not know about the fact that he had willingly entered the dead creature's mouth just a few minutes earlier...

I should calm him down and see if I can find out how he entered the ancient sect ruins...

Swish~

Thump!

Landing on the ground beside the young boy who had still not noticed him at this point in time, Xuan Hao felt somewhat surprised over the fact that the Core Formation Realm Expert he was searching for was only a young boy that looked no older than twenty or so years old.

"Hello, mind if I ask a few questions?"

Calling out to the young boy who had still not noticed him, Xuan Hao silently mobilized his domain to protect from the miasma slowly entering and poisoning his body. Even if the miasma was not any threat to Xuan Hao, it still posed a certain threat to someone in the Core Formation realm and would force them to spend most of their energy on trying to keep the miasma from entering their body and killing them.

"Ah!?"

Not noticing Xuan Hao who had suddenly appeared beside him, the young boy cried out in shock before turning to look towards Xuan Hao with a fearful expression on his face.

"Not a demon beast... What do you want to know...?

Only after realizing that Xuan Hao was not a demon beast and didn't seem to be hostile towards him, did the young boy start calming down a little... Of course, he was not fully trusting towards the person who had suddenly appeared beside him and was still prepared to fight in case Xuan Hao decided to attack him.

Not that he would have much of a chance considering how much weaker than Xuan Hao he was...

Whoosh~!

"I want to ask you how you managed to enter the ancient ruins!"

Not wanting to waste time trying to convince the young Core Formation Realm Expert to tell him how he ended up inside the ancient sect ruins, Xuan Hao decided to fully release his aura as a Peak Domain Lord Realm Expert when asking.

"This-"

Feeling the terrifying power that suddenly exploded out from Xuan Hao's body before it started to engulf him, the young boy understood full well that the other party could easily kill him and he would not have any chance to resist!

Even the sect master is not this scary... Is this person perhaps someone in the Soul Ascension Realm!?

Taking a deep breath as he thought about this, the young boy could not stop his body from trembling when faced with someone who was even stronger than his sect master.

"So?"

"I-I remember entering the forest of poisonous devil trees on the border between the inner and outer region of the Great Poison Swamp when-"

Hearing Xuan Hao's voice once again, the young boy did not waste any time before he began talking about how he had ended up in his current location. From the Devil Bugs he had encountered while entering the forest of poisonous devil trees, to the sudden teleportation to a place filled with the corpses of over a dozen Domain Lord Realm demon beast and all the way to him following a strange light that suddenly resulted in him being teleported once again.

"-After passing through the golden mist, I then made my way to the core of the palace to get my hands on the inheritance... But just when I was about to receive the inheritance from the immortal spirit left behind by the past owner of the palace, I was teleported inside... That thing..."

Glancing back up towards the mountain sized dead body filled with fear after he finished explaining how he had ended up in his current situation, the young boy soon looked away before waiting for Xuan Hao to respond.

All things considered; the young boy understood very well that his only way out of his current situation alive would be to get the expert in front of him to help him out.

Without anyone's help... The young boy doubted he would be able to leave whatever horrifying place he now found himself inside of alive!

"Hm..."

Frowning to himself as he thought about what the young boy had told him, Xuan Hao had already realized that the young boy should have entered the ancient teleportation artifact he had also entered the ancient sect ruins through.

The only difference between the way they had entered, was that the young boy should have entered the ancient teleportation artifact before him.

Wait... If he could enter the teleportation artifact before me, does that not mean the ancient teleportation artifact can be used more than once!?

Feeling like another headache outside of the shadows and the terrifying creature he had encountered back inside the ancient sect itself was about to pop up in the form of a group of Soul Ascension Realm Experts, Xuan Hao felt more determined than ever to leave the ancient sect ruins as quickly as possible.

At the very least he now had a clue from talking with the young boy, the room he had appeared in!

Although the description given by the young boy of the room was not something he himself understood, Xuan Hao realized that the ancient symbols he had seen were most likely a teleportation formation of some sort that could be used to teleport someone back out of the ancient sect ruins again!

[Side Quest: Escape, Updated!]

[Description: Explore the ruins of the long-forgotten sect in front of you and look for a way to escape before dying. NEW: The ancient teleportation artifact that was used to enter the ancient sect ruins was anchored to a greater teleportation formation. Using the greater teleportation formation will allow you to connect with other teleportation artifacts outside the sect and use them to escape.]

As if to confirm his train of thought, the description of the quest changed. Showing that he would indeed be able to escape through the room that the young boy had appeared in when he first arrived at the ancient sect ruins!

Now the question became... How was he going to find the room with the greater teleportation formation after he had destroyed the gate back to the ancient sect in an attempt to prevent the shadows and terrifying creature from chasing after him...?

Report chapter Comments

Lost in thought as he was thinking about how to return back to the ancient sect to look for the greater teleportation formation, Xuan Hao could not help smiling happily as he suddenly saw two shadows appearing in the distance.

"Looks like I don't have to worry about finding a way back to the ancient sect ruins anymore…" Muttering this to himself as he looked towards the two shadows rapidly approaching him, Xuan Hao understood very well that their appearance meant they had managed to find another way inside the cursed land. Outside of the portal he had destroyed.

For this reason alone, Xuan Hao did not feel the slightest bit unhappy over the fact that there was a high chance that he would soon be swarmed by the shadows once again.

"Ehm… Senior, there is something approaching from over there…"

Hearing the sound of someone calling out beside him all of a sudden, Xuan Hao turned towards the young boy who had been quietly standing next to him without saying anything after he had finished his explanation of how he got into the ancient sect ruins.

Hm… Even if I reach the ancient sect ruins again, I will still have to find the greater teleportation formation, without any help, I probably won't be able to find it before I either get overwhelmed by the shadows or the terrifying creature that appeared just before I escaped to this place…The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

Swoosh~!

Grabbing hold of the young boy before jumping into the air, Xuan Hao looked towards the two shadows approaching them.

"S-senior?"

Suddenly feeling himself getting lifted into the air, the young boy shivered all over before looking towards Xuan Hao with a confused expression on his face. Not understanding what was happening.

"We are going to return to the ancient sect ruins and when we do, you will have to do your best to try and remember the location of the room that you first appeared in. After all, we likely won't have a lot of time to find it after we reach the ancient sect ruins…"

Swish-!

Not wating any time after having said this to the young boy, Xuan Hao carried him along as he flew in the direction of the two shadows that were approaching them-

Swoosh~

Not bothering to waste time fighting with them as that would only end up giving more time for other shadows to show up, Xuan Hao instead used the Drifting Cloud Steps to easily move past them. Compared to back in the ancient sect ruins where the Drifting Cloud Steps was restricted, Xuan Hao had a far easier time avoiding the shadows this time around.

Hisss~?

Hisss…

Not expecting for Xuan Hao to pass them so easily before moving in the direction they had come from, the two shadows momentarily froze mid-air for a few seconds before slowly turning around and chasing after Xuan Hao who had already long since disappeared at this point in time.

…

Having already left the two shadows far behind at this point in time, Xuan Hao could not help letting out a sigh of relief after spotting a familiar looking gate in the distance.

I wonder where this one leads inside the ancient sect ruins. Hopefully somewhere close to where the other gate was located…

Thinking this to himself as he approached the gate, Xuan Hao glanced down towards the young boy who was currently fully focused on trying to recall everything about the area around the greater teleportation formation he had entered the ancient sect ruins through.

Even if he managed to find his way back to where the gate he had destroyed was located, the most important factor in escaping from the ancient sect ruins was still relying on the fact that the young boy would be able to remember the location of the greater teleportation formation.

Whoosh~!

Entering the gate and passing through the portal without any difficulties a few seconds later, Xuan Hao could not help narrowing both his eyes as his divine sense swept out to scan everything around him to get a better idea of where he was.

In the end, he could only shake his head upon realizing that he did not recognize the buildings within the scope of his divine sense. Meaning that he had ended up somewhere completely different inside the massive ancient sect the size of the past Heavenly Sky Kingdom.

Given that his divine sense could only cover a few thousand meters around him, Xuan Hao understood very well how difficult it would be for him to search through the entire sect for the location of the greater teleportation formation.

Not to mention, he would have to do this before the shadows or the far more terrifying creature that he had felt approaching before escaping through the gate leading to the corrupted land, caught up to him!

"S-senior…"

"Is there something?"

Hearing the voice of the young boy nervously calling out to him as he was trying to look for anything that could help him with finding out what direction to move in through his divine sense, Xuan Hao curiously turned towards the young boy.

"Y-yes… T-the pavilion over there I remember walking by it just after I left the room that I was teleported to… I think the room I found myself inside of should not be too far away from here!"

"Great! Let's get going!"

Swish-!

Feeling a wave of excitement rush through him after hearing what the young boy said, Xuan Hao didn't dare waste any time as he grabbed the young boy and moved to the pavilion he had pointed towards.

"Now where!?"

"T-this- S-senior… Please give me a second!" Feeling like the world around him was spinning from suddenly getting picked up and moved in front of the pavilion, the young boy tried his best to calm down before beginning to inspect his surroundings for any clue that might help him remembering what direction the room with the greater teleportation was located.

"This way! I remember passing by the tower over there around 10 or so minutes after I left the room I got teleported into, as long as you follow the road over there, we should be able to reach the room where I first appeared after getting teleported into the ancient sect ruins!"

"So, we should find it as long as we follow the road here…"

Hearing what the young boy said as he looked towards the tower before glancing down at the road located beside the massive tower-

Swish-!

Not wasting any time after having determined what direction to move in, Xuan Hao picked up the young boy before using a movement technique different from the Drifting Cloud Step to move along the road that the young boy had told him to follow…

This should be it!

Coming to a stop only a few seconds later in front of a small house, Xuan Hao could not help narrowing both his eyes upon feeling the stability of space around him having reached a level where it was impossible for him to disrupt it.

"This is it!"

As if to confirm what he was thinking, the young boy quickly exclaimed with a look of surprise on his face when looking towards the small house he had escaped from only a few hours earlier.

So, this really is the place where the greater teleportation formation mentioned by the system is located…

Creak~!

Entering the room without waiting for the young boy to catch up after having confirmed that the small house was really the place where the greater teleportation formation was located, Xuan Hao could not help freezing on the spot after stepping inside and seeing the countless complex and ancient symbols covering the walls, floor and ceiling of the small room inside the house.

Whoosh-!

However, he was quickly brought back to reality, as a shadowy figure inside the room dashed towards him filled with killing intent-

Bang!

Of course, the shadowy figure was far weaker than the shadows he had encountered, so it was easily dealt with by his domain before it managed to do any damage to the surrounding formation.

Hm… I might have alerted the surrounding shadows with this…

Frowning as he looked towards the pile of dead snakes that was left behind, Xuan Hao quickly turned his attention towards the formation symbols all around him as he began trying to figure out how to use the greater teleportation formation.

"Ah!? This is…"

Entering the room just after Xuan Hao had dealt with the shadowy figure, the young boy could not help exclaiming in surprise upon seeing the pile of dead snakes.

The senior dealt with these scary snakes so easily, I wonder how strong he is… Perhaps he really is someone who has reached the Soul Ascension Realm!

Filled with both fear and awe as he thought about this, the young boy quietly sat down at the ground as he watched Xuan Hao moving around the room while inspecting the different ancient symbols all over the place. The miasma that had made it hard for him to see the room in the past already having grown far thinner under the influence of Xuan Hao's domain.

Report chapter Comments

This formation is far more complicated than expected...

Looking over the wall in front of him covered in ancient symbols that glowed dimly beneath the thin miasma floating around the room, Xuan Hao could only give up trying to take control of the greater teleportation formation with his current understanding of formations.

At the moment, the only thing he could barely do with his current understanding of the greater teleportation formation, was sacrifice close to half of the qi that he had stored up inside his dantian to get the greater teleportation formation to activate and teleport them somewhere outside the ancient sect ruins.

Although this method was not preferred due to it placing him and the young boy in a random location outside the ancient sect ruins that was connected to the greater teleportation formation, Xuan Hao preferred this over staying inside the ancient sect ruins and risk getting caught by the terrifying creature he had already encountered once.

As for the matter of sacrificing half the qi stored up inside his dantian... It was not something Xuan Hao thought too much about, as it would only take a short time for Xuan Hao to recover this qi with his current cultivation realm.

ROOOOAR-!

"Looks like its time to get going..."

Hearing an all too familiar roar echo out across the ancient sect ruins followed by a terrifying aura washing over him, Xuan Hao didn't hesitate any longer and directly injected his qi into the greater teleportation formation-

Whoosh-!

Instantly causing all the ancient symbols covering the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room to light up with a dark yellow light. Momentarily blinding the young boy who had been looking straight at one of the ancient symbols when they suddenly lit up.

"Ahhh-!"

Ignoring the scream of the young boy, who might have become the first Core Formation Realm Expert to get blinded by formation symbol, Xuan Hao focused on guiding the ancient symbols to form a small gate in the centre of the room.

Swish-!

Knowing that time was limited after the small gate had formed, Xuan Hao didn't bother saying anything to the young boy, as he grabbed hold of him and dragged him into the small gate before it had time to close.

ROOOOAR--!

Only a second after the gate had disappeared together with Xuan Hao and the young boy, did a loud roar echo out just outside the small house. Followed by the sound of something massive descending from above towards the small house-

BOOOM-!

Before the sound of the roar ended, a large claw broke through the thick miasma outside and land on the small house with the greater teleportation formation inside of it. Instantly destroying both the small house and the greater teleportation formation!

...

That was close...

Letting out a sigh of relief as he looked back towards the gate that had been formed by the greater teleportation formation quickly disappearing behind, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine after remembering the terrifying aura he had felt engulfing him just before he passed through the gate created by the greater teleportation formation.

Even if he had no idea what happened after he left, Xuan Hao was almost certain that he would have ended up dead if he had stayed for even a second longer!

"But the miasma is still around... Did we really leave the ancient sect ruins?" Muttering this as he slowly started inspecting his surroundings, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit worried after seeing the miasma all around him.

Even if the miasma was not only inside the ancient sect ruins and could also be found inside the Great Poison Swamp, Xuan Hao was not a hundred percent certain that the greater teleportation formation had worked like he had thought it would. After all, the greater teleportation formation was an ancient formation that was far above his current understanding of formations, the fact that he could even get it to send him to a random location could be considered an accomplishment far beyond his skill level...

Ah! Can't I just check and see if the side quest was completed?

[Side Quest: Escape (Complete)]

[Description: Explore the ruins of the long-forgotten sect in front of you and look for a way to escape before dying. The ancient teleportation artifact that was used to enter the ancient sect ruins was anchored to a greater teleportation formation. Using the greater teleportation formation will allow you to connect with other teleportation artifacts outside the sect and use them to escape.]

[Reward: Staying alive, Great Poison Scripture]

Having remembered the side quest he had gotten, Xuan Hao quickly pulled up the system interface and was happy to see that the side quest had indeed been completed. Meaning that he had indeed been teleported to somewhere outside the ancient sect ruins!

[Redeem reward: Y/N]

Yes!

Not thinking too much about the reward as he just planned to put away the Great Poison Scripture before making his way out of the Great Poison Swamp as quickly as possible, Xuan Hao was surprised to suddenly feel a small dark vortex of qi appearing inside his dantianThe initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

"This-!?"

Fwoosh-!

Before even having a chance to react to what was happening inside his dantian, a small wisp of pure qi manifested inside his dantian before exterminating the small dark vortex of qi that had suddenly appeared.

Whoosh~

Not even having the time to react to what was happening inside his dantian before everything was over, Xuan Hao could only sit down on the ground with a surprised expression on his face as a small book with the words [Great Poison Scripture] written on top of it manifested in front of him.

"What was that...?"

Almost whispering this to himself as he went over what had just happened, Xuan Hao could not help looking towards the book floating in the air in front of him.

This... Was the staying alive reward mentioned by the system perhaps not related to the ancient sect ruins, but instead the small dark vortex of qi hidden inside my dantian? Now that I think about, since when did that dark vortex of qi appear inside my dantian? Is it from the terrifying creature in the ancient sect ruins... Or maybe even earlier than that...

Feeling a shiver run down his spine as he thought about the small dark vortex of qi having been hidden inside his dantian, Xuan Hao understood full well how dangerous such a thing was.

Even if the power of the small dark vortex of qi was not too strong compared to the massive vortex that had formed at the centre of his dantian after his two domains had merged together, the small dark vortex of qi could still end up costing him his life if it suddenly exploded while he was breaking through or during a life and death battle with someone equal to himself in strength!

Whoosh~

Putting the [Great Poison Scripture] into his interspatial ring before slowly standing up again, Xuan Hao tried his best to recall any circumstances that could have resulted in the small dark vortex of qi appearing inside his dantian. Among which, he felt that his visit to the ancient seal below the ruins of the Raging Flame Sect when he had first reached the Domain Lord Realm also had a very high probability for being the reason why the small dark vortex appeared inside his dantian.

At the very least, given the strength of the being sealed away by the ancient seal, Xuan Hao did not find it unlikely for it to be able to implant the small vortex inside his dantian. The only question left to be answered if that was really the case would be why? Did the small dark vortex perhaps have some other use after it grew stronger?

But... If it really is related to my visit to the ancient seal back then, it is possible that the ancient seal has already started breaking. The reason I couldn't see anything wrong with the ancient seal is possibly due to the fact that my cultivation is still far too weak to see the true essence of the ancient seal!

"Haaa..."

After reaching the Soul Ascension Realm in the future, I will go back to investigate the ancient seal and see if I can find out more...

Feeling like things were slowly starting to get complicated, Xuan Hao could not help letting out a sigh before shaking his head and deciding to throw the matter to the back of his mind for now.

All things considered; he was still far too weak to begin investigating the matter of the ancient seal...

"S-senior... W-where is this? Did we leave the ancient sect ruins!?"

Just at this moment, Xuan Hao heard the voice of the young boy who had remained frozen in shock for the past few second after he had dragged him through the gate formed by the greater teleportation formation.

"We have- Hm?"

Looking towards the young boy, Xuan Hao was just about to answer him when he suddenly felt a familiar presence appearing at the edge of his divine sense!

Report chapter Comments

One of the Soul Ascension Realm Expert from earlier…

Observing the Soul Ascension Realm Expert that had appeared at the edge of his divine sense, Xuan Hao could not help frowning after discovering that the Soul Ascension Realm Expert did not seem to have noticed him as he continued moving in his direction.

This…

As the Soul Ascension Realm Expert got closer, Xuan Hao could not help showing an expression of surprise.

Not only was the Soul Ascension Realm Expert in a horrible state with only half his body left intact, but over half of what remained of his body had already been covered by some sort of black spot that was spreading to what remained of the body. Given another few minutes, the Soul Ascension Realm Expert would most likely be forced to abandon his body!

Even if the Soul Ascension Realm Expert could survive, losing his body was sure to be a major blow that would result in him having to waste thousands of years recovering the damage his soul would inevitably receive by flying through the miasma of the Great Poison Swamp.

After all, even if the miasma was easy to resist for someone as long as they reached the Domain Lord Realm, this took into account the fact that one had a physical body!

Wait… With the restrictive force around, how will he even fly his soul out of this place in the first place…?

Suddenly remembering the restrictive force that prevented him and others from flying inside the Great Poison Swamp, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit curious about whether or not the restrictive force would also affect someone who had no physical body. If it really did… The Soul Ascension Realm Expert in front of him would end up dead the moment his physical body was consumed by the strange power eating away at it!

Hm? Isn't this... That terrifying creature from the ancient sect ruins!? But how did it appear here…?

Cursing silently to himself as the Soul Ascension Realm Expert got close enough for him to properly start examining the black spot slowly growing bigger, Xuan Hao subconsciously began moving away from the Soul Ascension Realm Expert.

No matter how curious he was about the black spot, Xuan Hao didn't dare try his luck at investigating what had happened to the Soul Ascension Realm Expert after feeling the terrifying aura that lingered around the black spot slowly consuming the physical body of the Soul Ascension Realm Expert.

Even if he didn't investigate the situation more clearly, he was at least certain about one thing, the group of Soul Ascension Realm Experts had also entered the ancient sect ruins. The only difference being that they ended up fighting against the terrifying creature that he had managed to avoid.

"…"

Looking at the deteriorating situation of the Soul Ascension Realm Expert who ran within a distance of only a few dozen meters of him without noticing his presence, Xuan Hao felt happy that he was not the one that ended up facing the terrifying creature in a fight!

He might be strong enough to face off against a Soul Ascension Realm Expert… But there was no way he would be able to escape alive against a creature that had ended up destroying a group of at least 6 Soul Ascension Realm Experts!

Let's leave this place for now…

Not wanting to stay around the Great Poison Swamp for even a second longer after knowing that he might end up encountering the terrifying creature from the ancient sect ruins, Xuan Hao picked up the young boy before moving in the same direction as the half-dead Soul Ascension Realm Expert-

Swish-!NvεlB¡n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales.

Given that he had no idea where he was inside the Great Poison Swamp, it was by far the best option he had, as the Soul Ascension Realm Expert should be doing his best at getting out of the Great Poison Swamp as quickly as possible before losing his physical body.

"W-who!?"

Having not bothered concealing himself as he was just trying to leave the Great Poison Swamp as quickly as possible, the Soul Ascension Realm Expert up ahead slowed down for a short moment as he looked towards Xuan Hao with a cautious expression on his face.

"…"

Swish~

Seeing the reaction of the other party, Xuan Hao just ignored him as he increased his speed even further before directly overtaking the Soul Ascension Realm Expert who was barely able to use his movement technique at this point in time.

Standing around and chatting with one of the people who had hunted him down earlier was not really something Xuan Hao was interested in. The fact that he didn't return the favor by attacking the other party while he was in a half dead state could already be considered him being quite merciful.

Not that Xuan Hao believed that the other party would be able to make it out of the Great Poison Swamp in his current state...

The forest of the poisonous devil trees covered with devil bugs was still a thing and with the dark spot trying to devour his body, there would be no way for him to pass through the devil bugs without getting attacked!

"Hey! Wait up fellow cultivator, I-"

Listening as the sound of the half dead Soul Ascension Realm Expert faded away before completely disappearing, Xuan Hao focused his full attention on his surroundings to look out for any of the other Soul Ascension Realm Experts that should have been around…

However, in the end, none of them appeared by the time he reached the wall of poisonous trees with devil bugs crawling all over them.

…

I-I'm back at the poisonous devil trees again!

As Xuan Hao reached the poisonous devil trees, the young boy who had been dragged along looked towards the poisonous devil trees in front of him with a dazed expression on his face. Not really comprehending what had happened ever since he had left the ancient sect ruins… Well… To be honest, he didn't really fully understand what he went through inside the ancient sect ruins either…

"You helped me escape from the ancient sect ruins, so in turn also helped you leave that place safely. Unfortunately, I can't help you when it comes to crossing this place… This is where we part ways, you will have to do the rest on your own…"

Swoosh~

Before the young boy had any time to say anything, he realized that Xuan Hao who had been standing right beside him casually strolled inside the forest of poisonous devil trees. Even when he was covered by the devil bugs, the young boy did not see his pace changing, as the young boy speechlessly watched how Xuan Hao soon disappeared behind a few trees.

"This…"

Not knowing what to do after seeing Xuan Hao dissapearing, the young boy could not help shivering all over as he slowly realized that he would have to enter the forest of poisonous devil bug trees once again to leave the Great Poison Swamp. Nobody would be able to help him when it came to this!

"I… T-these small bugs are n-nothing compared to the ancient sect ruins!"

Encouraging himself as he said this, the young boy slowly felt his courage increasing as he began sealing off his dantian to prevent any qi from getting detected by the devil bugs.

Swish~

Moving closer and closer to the forest, the young boy could feel his heart beating loudly in his chest as he closed both of his eyes before taking the final step forward into the poisonous devil tree forest-

Rustle~!

Rustle~!

Rustle~!

The moment he took the step forward and entered the forest filled with poisonous devil trees, the young boy could not help freezing on the spot for a moment as he felt the countless small feet of the devil bugs making their way up his legs before quickly covering his entire body.

I hate this!

Not able to think anything more than this with the devil bugs crawling all over him, the young boy slowly began moving forward as he remembered how Xuan Hao had casually strolled through the poisonous devil tree forest while covered by devil bugs.

From how casually senior treated this, I'm sure that the devil bugs won't do anything as long as I act the same way senior did…

Feeling a wave of confidence suddenly appear out of nowhere as he remembered how easily Xuan Hao had deal with the devil bugs, the young boy felt more confident than ever as he continued deeper inside the forest.

Unknowingly, the young boy's fear of the devil bugs had already completely disappeared at this point in time. The only thing that remained was the fact that it was a rather uncomfortable experience to have countless small devil bugs crawling all over one's body.

Compared to the first time he entered the poisonous devil tree forest; it could be said that the young boy's personality had changed on a fundamental level!

Report chapter Comments

"Senior brother!? Senior Sister!?"

Walking through the poisonous devil tree forest covered in devil bugs from head to toe, the young boy could not help exclaiming in surprise upon discovering his senior brother and sister in the process of harvesting the leaves of a mature poisonous devil tree in the distance.

Out of all the things he expected to encounter while passing through the poisonous devil tree forest, the last thing he expected was to encounter his senior brother and sister in the process of harvesting the mature poisonous devil leaves!

"Junior brother!?"

Hearing him calling out, the young boy's senior sister who was focused on gathering the mature poisonous devil leaves turned around as she looked towards her junior brother who had appeared out of thin air over an hour after they had begun the slow process of gathering the mature poisonous devil leaves without using their cultivation base.

"Huh? Junior brother really appeared!?"

Not lacking too far behind the young boy's senior sister, his senior brother also turned around and looked towards him filled with disbelief.

It was obvious from first glance that both of them had not expected to see him again. Especially considering that it had already been over an hour since they had lost sight of him.

"Hehe. Looks at both of you, be careful not to lose focus in case you end up alerting the devil bugs!" Chuckling to himself as he entered the mature poisonous devil trees sphere of influence and felt all the devil bugs on him escaping, the young boy could not help feeling happy after seeing his two seniors once again.

"You... You are not even the slightest bit scared of the devil bugs anymore, what on earth happened to you over this last hour...?"

Picking up on just how different the behaviour of her junior brother was compared to when she had last seen him, the senior sister could not help asking this as a curious expression appeared on her face.

"Well... It's a long story, I will tell you about it after we get out of here..."

Knowing that it was not suitable for them to stay inside the poisonous devil tree for any longer than necessary, the young boy soon began helping his two seniors with gathering the mature poisonous devil leaves before all three of them finished taking the last of the poisonous devil leaves-

Rustle~!

Rustle~!

Rustle~!

Resulting in the devil bugs outside the sphere of influence created by the mature poisonous devil tree to swarm inside and cover all three of them over the next few seconds. Unfortunately for them, the mature poisonous devil leaves did not help with warding off the devil bugs after they had been taken off the poisonous devil tree...

"Let's get out of here..."

""...""

Followed by the suggestion of the senior sister who could barely open her mouth to say this, the young boy and his senior brother both nodded their heads together before the group of three all began making their way out of the poisonous devil tree forest together.

...

"I'm not ever going to return to this place...!"

Looking back towards the poisonous devil trees behind him as he said this, Xuan Hao vowed to himself to never try and enter the inner region of the Great Poison Swamp again. At least not before he had enough strength to enter the inner region without having to get covered by the devil bugs...

Turning his attention away from the poisonous devil trees, Xuan Hao utilized his divine sense to its full potential as it spread out all around him-

Whoosh~!

Although it was still limited due to the miasma of the Great Poison Swamp, Xuan Hao had managed to negate most of the restraining effect that the miasma had on his divine sense after he realized that the miasma was created by a plant closely related to the Dao of Corruption.

It looks like I managed to get out on the other side of the Great Poison Swamp...The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

As his divine sense reflect the situation close to a hundred miles around him, Xuan Hao did not take long to figure out where he was from the different cultivators exploring the Great Poison Swamp all around him... But at the same time, Xuan Hao was taken aback by the sheer number of people wandering around inside the Great Poison Swamp looking for poisonous spiritual herbs or rare poisonous insects.

Even if he had already expected for there to be a lot of people inside the Great Poison Swamp, the number of people cautiously moving around inside the Great Poison Swamp was far beyond any expectations he had.

Not to mention the fact that most of these people exploring the dangerous Great Poison Swamp were actually not even in Core Formation Realm!

Hm? Poisonous Life Lotus? A chance to become the personal disciple of a Peak Domain Lord Realm Expert?

After focusing his attention towards the many weaker cultivators who had only reached the Foundation Establishment Realm searching through the Great Poison Swamp, Xuan Hao did not take long to figure out why they had all entered a dangerous place like the Great Poison Swamp.

Apparently, one of the Peak Domain Lords in the Sky Empire had announced that he would owe anyone who could bring him a Poisonous Life Lotus a favour. Even promising to take in the person who brought him the Poisonous Life Lotus as a personal disciple if they wanted

Among the people searching for the Poisonous Life Lotus, there was even rumours about the Peak Domain Lord Realm Expert ensuring that they would be able to reach the Domain Lord Realm!

"Lord of the Jade Crystal Palace? Interesting..." Figuring out the name of the Peak Domain Lord Realm Expert, Xuan Hao could not help feeling curious as he recalled the information recorded about him in the book Yi Min had given to him.

The Lord of the Jade Crystal Palace, one of the few Peak Domain Lord Realm Experts inside the Sky Empire and by far the oldest among them. From what little information that was accessible, it was obvious that the Lord of the Jade Crystal Palace could be considered one of the strongest people in the Sky Empire.

The Jade Crystal Palace that he was in charge of was the largest merchant organisations inside the Sky Empire and it was even noted that the Jade Crystal Palace itself was a part of a far larger merchant organisation that operated across the entire continent in a similar way as the Explorer Union. The only difference between the two was the fact that one focused on exploring unknown regions of the continent, while the other was solely focused on trading all kinds of spiritual treasures and precious artifacts.

With all of this in mind, Xuan Hao could not help feeling even more curious about the Poisonous Life Lotus that the Lord of the Jade Crystal Palace was searching for. After all, given that even someone like the Lord of the Jade Crystal Palace who was connected to a massive merchant group that had spread across the entire continent in a similar way as the Explorer Union, it was obvious that the Poisonous Life Lotus was incredibly hard to find...

Even Xuan Hao who had managed to gain a deep understanding of all sorts of different spiritual herbs with the help of the system, had no idea what kind of spiritual herb the Poisonous Life Lotus was!

Only after using his divine sense to scan over the description of it carried by the horde of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators who had entered the Great Poison Swamp did he manage to understand what the Poisonous Life Lotus looked like.

"It should be located somewhere in the core region of the Great Poison Swamp..." Muttering this to himself after doing a quick sweep of his surroundings while looking for the Poisonous Life Lotus that all the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators were searching for, Xuan Hao quickly concluded that the Poisonous Life Lotus should be somewhere inside the core region of the Great Poison Swamp... Not a place that these Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators would dare enter with their strength!

Swish~!

Not wasting any time as he began to leave the Great Poison Swamp, Xuan Hao didn't even think about entering the core region of the Great Poison Swamp to search for the Poison Life Lotus.

Not to mention the fact that he had no idea what use the spiritual herb had, he would also risk running into the terrifying creature from the ancient sect ruins that was possibly inside the core region of the Great Poison Swamp at the moment!

Even if he was lucky and the terrifying creature had not entered the core region of the Great Poison Swamp, Xuan Hao did not want to risk running into the group of Soul Ascension Realm Experts that were undoubtably not too far away from the half dead Soul Ascension Realm Expert he had met... Well... Considering they had managed to escape alive...

Report chapter Comments

Leaving the Great Poison Swamp without encountering any problems along the way, Xuan Hao found a quiet place before taking out the Great Poison Scripture and starting to read through with a curious expression on his face.

"An alchemy book...?" Muttering this to himself as he began reading through the book, Xuan Hao did not take long to understand that the Great Poison Scripture was a book about alchemy. However, different from a normal book about alchemy, the Great Poison Scripture only recorded different poisonous spiritual herbs, pills and potions.

"To think that the Great Poison Scripture is actually something left behind by a Poison Master..." Narrowing his eyes as he continued reading through the Great Poison Scripture, Xuan Hao could not help exclaiming to himself after realizing that the Great Poison Scripture was actually left behind by an ancient poison master that had once been part of the ancient sect located beside the Great Poison Swamp.

The title of Poison Master alone was something that only a highly skilled Master Alchemist focused on making poisonous pills and potions could obtain... And that is not mentioning the fact that the one who had written the Great Poison Scripture should have already surpassed the realm of a Master Alchemist!

Even if he did not specialize in poison when it came to alchemy, the insights left behind in the Great Poison Scripture would be extremely useful for the current Xuan Hao. Maybe it would even allow him to breakthrough from the Artisan Alchemist Realm and officially become a Master Alchemist!

Rustle~

Putting away the Great Poison Scripture after understanding how precious it was, Xuan Hao decided not to read any more of the Great Poison Scripture for now. Fearing that he would end up getting too absorbed in exploring the mysterious work left behind by a powerful alchemist that was likely to have surpassed the Master Alchemist Realm...

Whoosh-!

Jumping into the air after having put away the Great Poison Scripture, Xuan Hao continued his journey towards the capital city of the Great Sky Empire.

Different from his original plan of exploring the different dangerous areas he would pass through if he wanted to reach the capital on time, Xuan Hao instead planned to avoid some of the more dangerous places. Not wanting to end up trapped inside a dangerous place like the ancient sect ruins he had just escaped!

...

At the same time Xuan Hao was making his way towards the capital city of the Sky Empire, Bai Ning and Hui Ying who had been moving towards the nearest way out of the underground tunnel network below the jungle, came to a stop in front of a small and narrow passage leading up to the surface of the jungle.

Stopping in front of the path, Bai Ning could clearly feel how nervous both he and Hui Ying were at the moment.

Given how dangerous things would be after they reached the surface, Bai Ning understood this, as he himself also felt afraid when thinking of them possibly encountering a Nascent Soul Realm demon beast again.

"Are you ready...?"

Turning to look back towards Hui Ying as he said this, Bai Ning could see how she tightened her grip around her weapon for a short moment before slowly nodding her head in response.

Even if both of them wanted nothing more than to stay in the underground tunnel network of the jungle to avoid running into the dangerous demon beasts above, they both understood that this wasn't possible.

Not only were they running out of food, but if they wanted to leave the jungle, they would have to venture above ground to look for one of the portals leading out of the jungle...

Rustle~

Beginning to make their way up through the narrow passage that only allowed one of them to pass through at a time, Bai Ning who was walking first cautiously approached a small rotting wooden hatch located at the end of the passage.

Creak~!

Pushing open the small hatch, Bai Ning did not relax in the slightest as he began inspecting his surroundings with one of his best defensive artifacts ready in case there was a demon beast lurking around the area ready to attack him the moment he stepped outside.

"Wha..."

Having pushed the small rotting wooden hatch out of the way and made his way above ground, Bai Ning could not help freezing on the spot for a few seconds as he ended up face to face with a massive demon beast easily the size of a small hill!

"Hm? Did something happen- This!? What is this massive skeleton!?"

Hearing Hui Ying calling out behind him, Bai Ning quickly recovered from his shocked state before he let out a sigh of relief.

Indeed, the massive demon beast the size of a small hill had already been dead for a long time and did not pose any threat to them!

Feeling himself calming down again after this thought passed through his head, Bai Ning turned his attention away from the massive skeleton of the demon beast before trying to figure out where they were.

According to the map, their current location should be some kind of outpost of sorts... However when Bai Ning looked around for the outpost that had been drawn on the large map, there was nothing other than a few ruined buildings that had all collapsed over the years and been reduced to nothing more than a few scattered rocks on the ground.

Out of all these ruins, the one that remained the most intact was the one Bai Ning and Hui Ying were currently inside of... And all that was left of that building was a stone wall barely a dozen centimeters in height...

For the outpost to decay to such a degree, it could easily be imagined how many years it had been since the outpost had still been in use. Especially considering the stones and wood used in the construction of the outpost were all special kinds of spiritual stones and wood that would be able to last for thousands of years without showing any signs of age!

"Bai Ning! Looks at this over here!"

As Bai Ning was still inspecting their surroundings, Hui Ying who had also made her way outside called out with a surprised expression on her face as she pointed towards something inside the large skeleton.

"Hm? What is it..."

Hearing Hui Ying calling out to him all of a sudden, Bai Ning turned his attention away from the ruins located around them as he soon showed a similarly surprised expression on his face when looking towards the direction Hui Ying was pointing in-

"A spiritual herb...?"

Indeed, in the middle of the massive skeleton, Bai Ning could see an almost translucent flower surrounded by a rainbow-coloured mist.

"Yes! It's a Dream Soul Flower! The spiritual herb I was searching for is a weaker version of the Dream Soul Flower called a Dream Flower, I really didn't expect to encounter the evolved version of the Dream Flower here!"

Filled with excitement as she said this, Hui Ying was overcome with happiness as she looked towards the small flower. Almost not able to stop herself from directly rushing over to grab the spiritual flower.

"Is it a really precious spiritual herb...?"The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

"Yes! Even if its use is limited, it is extremely useful for people with a special physique!"

"So... Does a Dream Soul Flower normally have a guardian demon beast watching over it...?"

"Of course, it does! The Dream Soul Flower is really useful to demon beast who are in the Core Formation Realm and can in some cases even allow them to directly reach the Nascent Soul realm. Even demon beasts in the Nascent Soul Realm find it useful and will be able to break through a minor realm by consuming it- Ah..."

Freezing on the spot as she suddenly realized what she was saying, Hui Ying slowly turned towards Bai Ning with a fearful expression on her face.

"T-the guardian demon beast!"

Barely saying this as she looked towards Bai Ning, Hui Ying understood that the weakest guardian demon beast of such a precious spiritual herb would have reached the Core Formation Realm, while the strongest might even have reached the Nascent Soul Realm!

No matter what, there was no way for them to fight against such a powerful guardian demon beast!

"Calm Down. From the looks of it, the guardian demon beast is not here at the moment. For now, we should still have some time to leave before it shows up... Let's leave this place as quickly as possible!"

Calming down Hui Ying who had started looking around herself for the guardian demon beast, Bai Ning was about to start leaving when Hui Ying suddenly dashed forward and picked up the Dream Soul Flower before carefully putting it away in a small wooden box she had been carrying with her all this time.

Rolling his eyes as he saw this, Bai Ning walked up to Hui Ying and took the small wooden box before storing it away inside his interspatial.

"Ah-! My Dream Soul Flower!"

"Let me carry the spiritual herb in my interspatial ring so we won't end up getting tracked down by the guardian demon beast."

"Yes..."

Whoosh~!

Whoosh~!

Not wanting to spend even a second longer in the ruins of the old outpost after the Dream Soul Flower had been put away, both Bai Ning and Hui Ying quickly left the place.

Report chapter Comments

"This should be far enough… Even if the guardian demon beast of the Dream Soul Flower was in the Nascent Soul Realm, we should already have left the area covered by its divine sense!" Muttering this to himself as he cautiously looked towards the thick foliage behind him, Bai Ning could not help feeling a wave of exhaustion washing over him after having used his movement technique over the past few hours without rest.

"Finally! Let's take a break!"

Thump~

Standing beside Bai Ning with a far more exhausted expression on her face compared to Bai Ning who was stronger than her, Hui Ying almost collapsed on the ground as she found a good position to lay in before starting to recover by meditating in a rather unique position.

"…"

Not saying anything after seeing Hui Ying laying on the ground recovering her energy, Bai Ning also found a place to sit down before he started to recover like Hui Ying. Not wanting to waste even a single second that both of them had to relax inside the jungle. After all, a demon beast could show up at any moment to attack them!

…

ROAR-!

At the same time Bai Ning and Hui Ying had started recovering from running through the jungle for the past few hours, a loud roar echoed out across the ruins of the outpost.

Bang!

Not a second after the loud roar echoed out across the place, a large demon beast landed on the ground in front of the massive skeleton before it turned to look towards the location that the Dream Soul Flower had been located just a few hours earlier before Hui Ying had taken it away and escaped from the place together with Bai Ning.

ROOOOOAR-!

Seeing that the Dream Soul Flower was missing, the demon beast that had landed on the ground in front of the massive skeleton let out an even louder roar than before, as a terrifying killing intent and the aura belonging to a Peak Core Formation Realm demon beast spread in all directions around the demon beast-

Roar!

Roar!

Roar!

Instantly terrifying any nearby demon beasts into letting out fearful roars of their own before they all began escaping as fast as possible!

Whoosh~!

Not wasting any time on these demon beasts that were scrambling around the place to escape as quickly as possible, the Peak Core Formation Realm demon beast began searching in his surroundings for any clue of the Dream Soul Flower that had been stolen…

Roar?

Continuing to search like this for close to half a day, the demon beast only stopped after suddenly discovering the smell of a rather unfamiliar creature at the border of its territory. Although the demon beast had no idea what kind of creature the smell belonged to, it was certain of one thing-

ROAR!Where Stories Blossom: NvεlB¡n.

The unfamiliar smell of a foreign creature definitely had something to do with the face that its Dream Soul Flower had been stolen!

Swish-!

Knowing that it had found a clue to where its Dream Soul Flower had disappeared to, the demon beast didn't waste a single second as it began following the traces left behind by the strange new creature.

The fact that it would be leaving its territory for others to claim while it was gone didn't really matter to it, as the only reason it took over that territory in the first place was because of the Dream Soul Flower!

Now that the Dream Soul Flower was gone, there was no longer any need for it to stay and guard its territory. After getting back the Dream Soul Flower, it would directly eat it and try to reach the Nascent Soul Realm before finding an even better territory!

…

"Haaa… I never imagined that annexing the territory of the Feather Kingdom would be so troublesome, to think that the ancestor of that kingdom actually managed to break through and reach the Domain Lord Realm all of a sudden…"

Back in the Star Shattering Sect, Elder Song was looking over the report he had gotten about the outcome of the battle that had taken place at the border of the Feather kingdom with a sad expression on his face.

Although the number of casualties were low due to the interference of Shu Yao, the sudden attack of the Domain Lord Realm ancestor of the Feather Kingdom had still ended up costing the life of close to a hundred outer disciples and a dozen inner disciples.

Even if he already understood that casualties would be inevitable in the battles that the Star Shattering Sect would have to fight when they expanded their territory, he still felt hurt knowing that some of the disciples he had taught over the years had ended up passing away in the battle.

There is nothing to do about it now that they are already dead. For now, I should make sure something like this doesn't happen again… Looks like I will have to visit the servant quarters and have them expand their information network to get an understanding of the power of the surrounding kingdoms before we expand towards some of the more powerful kingdoms…

Thinking this to himself as both his eyes narrowed visibly, Elder Song got up from his seat and put the report in his hand away before moving towards the servant quarters that had been located close to the edge of the mountain peak that the Star Shattering Sect was located on top of.

Whoosh~!

Using a profound movement technique that made him look like a flash of light passing by to the surrounding disciples, Elder Song did not take more than a few seconds before he arrived in front of the servant quarters.

"Looking more and more majestic over the years…" Muttering this to himself as he smiled wryly at the massive complex of all sorts of unique buildings that the servant quarters had turned into, Elder Song slowly made his way towards a large tower with a diameter of more than a hundred meters located at the centre of this massive complex of buildings.

Ever since a new headquarters for the servants who did the day to day task of the Star Shattering Sect had been constructed, Elder Song had watched first-hand how the servant quarters grew from a small part of the Star Shattering Sect that was used to carry out menial task and gather information inside the borders of the Heavenly Sky Kingdom to a large information that had begun spreading in all directions around the Star Shattering Sect.

Not only did the size of the servant quarters expand to a terrifying degree over the past few years, but as the strength of the disciples inside the Star Shattering Sect grew, so did the strength of the servants inside the servant quarters… At this point in time, all members of the servant quarters had already reached the Qi Condensation Realm!

Creak~!

Stepping through the large pair of doors leading inside the large tower that was at the centre of the servant quarters, Elder Song could not help marvelling over how clean and well organized the place was.

If just those elders under me put half as much effort into the management of the sect-

"Elder Song? Is there anything I can help with?"

Interrupting Elder Song's train of thought, a kind elderly woman smiled kindly as she said this while walking up to him.

"Hm? This is..."

Showing a surprised expression on his face as he saw the person who had appeared in front of him, Elder Song could not help feeling even more surprised after sensing the strength of the elderly lady in front of him.

"Elder Dust Fairy… I didn't expect you to still stay around here. Especially considering that you already reached the Nascent Soul Realm. Isn't there anyone suitable among the people below you who can take over the management of the servant quarters?"

"Haha, Elder Song, we both know very well that I can't leave this place after spending my entire life here… Even if I have reached the Nascent Soul Realm, it was just by luck. Not to mention, with the servant quarters current size, I think its fitting for someone with my strength to be in charge of the place!"

"This… You have a point…"

Looking at the kind old lady in front of him, Elder Song could not help shaking his head as he heard what she said.

The old lady, or Elder Dust Fairy, was one of the oldest members of the servant quarter and had been working there for her entire life. Even when it was discovered that she had a talent for cultivation, she still decided to stay in the servant quarters and ended up being called the Dust Fairy due to her superb cleaning ability.

Even after reaching the Core Formation Realm and becoming an elder, she still stayed inside the servant quarters and over the years became well known throughout the entire sect as Elder Dust Fairy.

Out of all the people who had experienced a rapid growth in strength after the Flying Sword Sect had merged together with the Spring Flower sect to form the Star Shattering Sect, Elder Dust Fairy was one of the people who ended up growing the most. Breaking through from the Peak of the Core Formation Realm to the Nascent Soul Realm!

Report chapter Comments

"Now… For what reason did you come here Elder Song? As far as I know, you should still be busy dealing with the aftermath of the battle that took place at the border of the Feather Kingdom."

"Well… I came here because of that! In order to prevent what happened in the Feather Kingdom from happening again, I plan to allocate more resources towards the development of the servant quarters to help it expand."

Hearing what Elder Dust Fairy said, Elder Song smiled wryly for a short moment before explaining his reason for coming to the servant quarters.

"You want to expand the servant quarters so we will be able to get our hands on information regarding the different kingdoms that you plan to expand the sect into? Hah… I did expect for something like this to happen at some point in time, it just seems that it took a little longer than I expected.

After all, if I don't remember wrongly, I came to you just a few months earlier to ask for more resources to expand the servant quarters… But you ended up refusing me saying that the resources would be put to better use as rewards for the missions that the disciples and elders could take on in the Grand Mission Pavilion…"

Shaking her head as she said this with a somewhat teasing smile on her face, Elder Dust Fairy looked directly towards Elder Song.

"This… Ahm, that was indeed a mistake on my part, I will send an elder over with a report on the precise amount of resources that will be allocated to the servant quarters in the future!"

Swish-!

Not knowing why, he suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine when faced with the teasing expression of the Elder Dust Fairy, Elder Song directly escaped from the servant quarters after saying this.

The matter he had come to discuss with Elder Dust Fairy was already thrown to the back of his mind as he decided to just let one of the elders working under him handle it. The main reason why he did this, was because he felt something dangerous was bound to happen if he ended up staying around inside the servant quarters for even a second longer!

"…"

Left behind inside the servant quarters, Elder Dust Fairy only narrowed her eyes for a split second after seeing Elder Song running away before returning to what she was doing before.

…

"So… What is your opinion on the Feather Kingdom?"

At the same time Elder Song was escaping from the servant quarters and making his way back to his courtyard, Feng Chen and Shu Yao had met up inside Feng Chen's palace to discuss the matter of the Feather Sky Kingdom.

"From what I can see, things are developing smoothly after the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom was killed by me, some of the surrounding kingdoms even took the initiative to forfeit their territory after news of what happened to the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom started spreading!

At this point in time, the only kingdoms and sects that have not given up are the older and more powerful ones like the Flame Sky Kingdom… But… For some reason, I can't help feeling that the battle with the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom was far too easy considering we are both in the First stage of the Domain Lord Realm…"

Saying this with a small frown on her face as she remembered her battle with the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom, Shu Yao could not help feeling that the battle had been far too easy for her. Even if the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom had just broken through to the Domain Lord Realm, he should still be able to put up a proper fight against her!

In the end, he had been easily supressed by her before being killed. Making Shu Yao feel like something was wrong with the cultivation base of the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom for him to lose so fast…

"Something wrong with the cultivation base of the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom? Do you mean that he used some sort of method to forcibly break through to the Domain Lord Realm?" Hearing what Shu Yao said, Feng Chen could not help frowning as he asked this.

After he himself had reached the Domain Lord Realm, he understood just how difficult it was to reach.

During his time before Xuan Hao had appeared in the Flying Sword Sect and reached the Domain Lord Realm, he had also spent a good amount of time looking for any shortcuts that might allow him to further improve his strength to make sure the Flying Sword Sect would be safe from the threat of the Raging Flame Sect that was ready to attack them at any moment back then.

However even after learning thousands of different obscure methods that could forcibly increase his cultivation base and strength, he had never heard about a method that would allow him to forcibly raise his strength to the Domain Lord Realm for a short time, let alone allowing him to truly break through to the Domain Lord Realm!

"Although I have no idea what method he used, I'm almost certain that the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom should have used some kind of method to forcibly raise his cultivation base to the Domain Lord Realm!

Even if his strength was far weaker than my own, his strength was still far above that of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator…"

"Hah… Looks like it might end up becoming far more troublesome to take over the territory of those stronger kingdoms in the future…"

Letting out a sigh as he said this after Shu Yao confirmed that the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom should indeed have used some sort of method to forcibly reach the Domain Lord Realm, Feng Chen understood that the method that the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom had used was likely to have come from some of the stronger and older kingdoms that the Star Shattering Sect planned to expand into.

Even if these kingdoms did not have any Domain Lord Realm Expert supporting them at the moment, most of these older and more powerful kingdoms had all had a Domain Lord Realm Expert emerging from them at some point in time. Resulting in them having a far deeper foundation compared to a small kingdom like the Heavenly Sky Kingdom where the ancestor that had established the kingdom had only reached the Half-Step Domain Lord Realm…

"Indeed…"

Nodding her head with a troubled expression on her face, Shu Yao also understood what it meant for the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom to have been able to break through to the Domain Lord Realm forcibly.

Although it was almost guaranteed that there would be some kind of side effect to forcibly breaking through from the Nascent Soul Realm to the Domain Lord Realm, the kingdoms like the Feather Kingdom who were close to losing all their territory due to the expansion of the Star Shattering Sect might resort to this kind of drastic measure to ensure that they would be able to keep control over their territory…

With all of this in mind, it could easily be seen how dangerous it would be if one of the larger kingdoms with four or more ancestors all close to reaching the Domain Lord Realm decided to use this kind of forbidden technique to forcefully cross the barrier to the Domain Lord Realm.

They might be weaker than a normal Domain Lord Realm Expert, but Shu Yao wasn't delusional enough to believe that she would be able to deal with a group of these ancestors who had forcibly reached the Domain Lord realm!

"We will take things slowly and focus on taking over the territory of the kingdoms that have already surrendered for now, as for the matter of the larger kingdoms, I will ask Elder Song if he has any suggestions on how to deal with this matter. In the worst-case scenario, we can always ask Xuan Hao…"NvεlB¡n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales.

Whoosh~

Finishing the conversation while saying this, Feng Chen didn't wait for Shu Yao to leave before he stood up and made his way towards Elder Song's courtyard.

"Hm…?"

Remaining inside the room even after Feng Chen had left, Shu Yao suddenly seemed to remember something as she looked towards a corner of the Star Shattering Sect with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Maybe I can get that lazy winged lion Grand Elder Xuan brought back to help out… Even after I reached the Domain Lord Realm, I still can't sense its strength, so it should at least have reached the Fourth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm!

If I can get that lazy winged lion to help out, dealing with the larger kingdoms should not be a problem even without the help of Grand Elder Xuan... But… How can I convince that lazy lion? All it does is sleep and eat…

Narrowing her eyes as a frown appeared on her face while looking in the direction of the place where the lazy winged lion was sleeping, Shu Yao's frown slowly started transforming into a smile as her eyes narrowed even further than before while looking towards the location of the lazy winged lion.

Report chapter Comments

Roar~

Having spent all its time since it had moved to the Shattered Star Peaks laying around while eating the great food and spirit stones that was brought to it whenever it wanted, the winged lion demon beast felt happy and contended with its current life.

The only bad thing it had discovered over the past few weeks was the fact that the number of spirit stones had started decreasing by a lot. At first it wanted to go and complain, but after the beast tamers of the Star Shattering Sect brought it all kinds of delicacies, it decided not to mind the decrease in spirit stones and instead focused on getting its hand on more delicious food!

Improving its strength further had never crossed the mind of the lazy winged lion demon beast, as it had focused all of its efforts on enjoying its current lifestyle…

"There you are!"

Just at this moment as the winged lion was lazily enjoying its carefree life, a voice suddenly called out as a woman soon appeared in front of it.

Roar?

Inspecting the woman more closely, the winged lion could not help tilting its head in confusion after realizing that the woman was not carrying any food along with her like any of the other people who had come to visit it.

For some odd reason, as it watched the woman more closely and saw that she was actually someone who had reached the Domain Lord Realm, the winged lion suddenly had a bad feeling.

"No need to look so worried, I'm only here to ask you to help out with something now that Grand Elder Xuan is not around…"

Roar!Where Stories Blossom: NvεlB¡n.

Feeling a shiver run down its spine after hearing the woman in front of it mentioning its master, the winged lion was one hundred percent certain that she had come with bad intentions!

She was definitely here to disturb its peaceful life!

"Now now, no need to look like that, you just have to help out with one little thing, and I will make sure you will be able to get even more delicious food in the future~!"

Roar…?

Hearing the mention of delicious food, the winged lion froze for a second before it remembered that the amount of food it got had also been decreasing.

Although not as much as the spirit stones and the fact that the lack of food could be made up by the increasingly delicious food that was delivered, the winged lion understood deep down that this problem would become worse in the future if its supply of food continued decreasing…

For this reason, the winged lion began feeling tempted after hearing the woman in front of it mentioning that she would increase its food supply.

In the first place, how troublesome could the matter be in the first place? At most it would get up and stretch its legs for a day or two and return to its lazy lifestyle with even more delicious food than before!

ROAR~!

Coming to a decision that it would help out with the matter that the woman from its master's sect wanted help with, the winged lion got up before proudly walking over and waiting for the woman to explain what she needed help with.

…

"That was easy than I expected…"

Leaving the place while looking back towards the winged lion who had gone back to sleeping again behind her, Shu Yao could not help smiling wryly as she had no idea how to feel knowing that she had managed to convince the winged lion to help out with dealing with some of the more powerful kingdoms when it was time.

Not only had she managed to convince the winged lion to help her out, but all it would end up costing the Star Shattering Sect was a little more food!

At first, Shu Yao had already been fully prepared to part with a good amount of spirit stones to get the winged lion to help out… But in the end, she only needed to offer it more food and it was more than happy to accept her request.

To be honest, the entire thing was outside Shu Yao's expectations…

"Now… To contact Grand Elder Xuan…" Shaking her head as she threw this matter to the back of her mind for now, Shu Yao made her way back towards the place she was staying before picking up a high-quality communication talisman to contact Xuan Hao about the matter of burrowing his demon beast.

Even if the winged lion had already agreed to help out for a bit more food, Shu Yao still understood that it would be best to contact Xuan Hao, the owner of the demon beast before she actually put the winged lion to use...

Luckily for Shu Yao, Xuan Hao had already thought that the winged lion was being far too lazy after it had settled down, so he was more than happy knowing that Shu Yao and the others would be putting it to work and agreed happily with what Shu Yao was planning to do.

As for the winged lion encountering any danger due to this? Xuan Hao didn't really think it was possible even with the method to forcibly break through to the Domain Lord Realm circulating around the more powerful kingdoms.

The main reason for this was due to the strength of the winged lion demon beast!

Even if Shu Yao and Feng Chen would have some idea about how strong it was, they had no idea how strong it was and could at most guess that it should at least have reached the Fourth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm.

In reality, the winged lion was far stronger than this and had already entered the later stages of the Domain Lord Realm. Reaching the Eighth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm!

Not to mention a few people who had forcibly broken through to the First Stage of the Domain Lord Realm. Even in the entire Sky Empire, the number of people who could match the winged lion was limited!

"This…"

Having finished her conversation with Xuan Hao about the winged lion, Shu Yao had no idea what to say as she looked towards the communication talisman in her hands with a speechless expression on her face.

Although she had already thought Xuan Hao was going to agree with her request to use the winged lion, she had never expected for it to be so easy…

Not to mention, during their short conversation, she also learnt about just how strong the winged lion was!

Although this was not likely to impact their current plans of first taking over the territory of the kingdoms that had already surrender after news of the fight in the Feather Kingdom, Shu Yao understood that it was different when it came to taking over the territory of those larger kingdoms.

I should inform Feng Chen and Elder Song about this first…

As this thought passed through her head, Shu Yao used her divine sense to sweep through the Star Shattering Sect before finding Elder Song and Feng Chen both inside the same courtyard.

Swish-!

Not wasting any time after finding out where the two of them were located, Shu Yao took a step forward and disappeared in the direction of the courtyard.

…

Following Shu Yao informing both Feng Chen and Elder Song about the winged lion and just how strong it was, all three of them decided that the winged lion would be the one to deal with any of the Domain Lord Realm Experts that might emerge from the larger kingdoms when they attacked them in the future.

For now, the development of the Star Shattering Sect was proceeding smoothly as the surrounding kingdoms all around the Star Shattering Sect that had already surrendered were slowly integrated into the increasingly vast territory that the Star Shattering Sect controlled.

To control this increasingly large territory, new branch sects were constructed all across this new territory to act as a way for the Star Shattering Sect to slowly gain full control over their new territory and at the same time recruit new disciples.

As time passed, it would not take long for the number of disciples in these newly constructed branch sects to surpass the number of disciples in the main sect of the Star Shattering Sect!

It was at this moment that the biggest news outside of the Star Shattering Sect's rapid expansion slowing down began spreading across the Star Shattering Sect and the surrounding kingdoms-

The Seven Fates Sect had officially started moving their main sect to a better location inside the core region of the Sky Empire where resources were more abundant!

Elder Song and the rest of the elders from the Star Shattering Sect had already expected for something like this to happen after the sect master of the Seven Fates Sect reached the Domain Lord Realm… And this was also one of the main reasons why the Star Shattering Sect had not attacked the Seven Fates Sect located right next to it!

For this reason, the Star Shattering Sect quietly watched on the side as the disciples and elders of the Seven Fates Sect all moved towards the core region of the Sky Empire under the protection of their sect master...

Report chapter Comments

As the Seven Fates Sect left for the core region of the Sky Empire over the next few weeks, the Star Shattering Sect did not take long before it moved in to take control over the territory that the Seven Fates Sect had left behind. Officially cementing itself as the only Domain Lord Realm power in the area now that the Seven Fates Sect had left.

Although this didn't cause any of the more powerful kingdoms around the Star Shattering Sect to surrender and give up their territory to the Star Shattering Sect, it still ended up causing the higher up of these kingdoms to feel even more nervous than before.

At this point in time, they all understood that the Star Shattering Sect was bound to target them after they had finished establishing themselves in the territory of the smaller kingdoms that had already surrendered to them.

Even if this might still take a few years, the time where they would have to surrender their territory or fight a hopeless battle with the Star Shattering Sect would inevitably come for them!

...

At the same time that things between the Star Shattering Sect and the surrounding kingdoms had calmed down following the battle between Shu Yao and the ancestor of the Feather Kingdom, Bai Ning and Hui Ying both felt a sense of relief washing over them as they spotted a large hill in the distance towering over the tall trees of the jungle.

"The path out of this place should be located somewhere on the other side of the hill over there. Haa... Finally, we will be able to get out of this place." Staring towards the hill, Hui Ying let out an exhausted sigh before a happy smile appeared on her face as she sat down and started recovering her energy for their final push towards the portal leading out of the jungle.

"..."

Seeing that Hui Ying had already sat down to recover, Bai Ning followed behind and similarly started recovering his energy in preparation for what they might encounter on the final stretch towards the portal.

The main reason why they both had decided to recover when they were already so close to the portal, was mainly due to the fact that they had escaped from a large pack of demonic wolves just a few minutes earlier.

Although the strongest among these demonic wolves had only reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, the number of them made up for their lack of strength.

To be honest, given how many wolves were in that pack, Bai Ning doubted that he would have been able to win even if he had reached the Core Formation Realm.

In a sense, they were rather lucky when escaping, as it seemed like a larger demon beast in the Core Formation Realm had appeared at the back of the pack of wolves, causing them to shift their focus from both of them towards the Core Formation Realm demon beast that had attacked the rear of the pack.

NvεlB¡n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales.

Still... The demon beast that appeared back there should be in the later stages of the Core Formation Realm. Dealing with the pack of wolves should only be a matter of time and if it continues moving in the same direction...

Thinking this, Bai Ning could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine. If the demon beast in the later stages of the Core Formation Realm really did catch up to them, there was not much they could do given the sheer difference in strength between them and a demon beast in the later stages of the Core Formation Realm.

Whoosh~!

Closing his eyes as he no longer thought about it any longer, Bai Ning focused his full attention towards recovering the qi he had used when escaping from the massive pack of wolves earlier.

Despite the fact that he was in a far better condition compared to Hui Ying and could still go on for a bit longer, he did not want to take any risks. Especially considering that the portal leading out of the jungle could be guarded by a demon beast.

Rustle~

"Hm?"

However only a few minutes after he had sat down to meditate and recover his qi, did one of the wolves that he and Hui Ying had just escaped from. Emerge from a nearby bush covered in blood.

R-Roar!

Barely able to let out a small roar in its current condition before threateningly looking towards both of them-

Thump!

The wolf demon beast collapsed dead on the ground in front of them before being able to do anything more than let out a single weak roar.

"This... Did the Core Formation Realm demon beast already deal with the pack of wolves!? Even if its in the later stages of the Core Formation Realm, it should at least take it another hour or two..."

Waking up from her meditation due to the appearance of the now dead wolf, Hui Ying fearfully muttered this to herself as she grabbed her weapon and looked towards the direction that the wolf had come from. Ready to fight the powerful demon beast that had originally helped them get rid of the pack of wolves.

"Let's go, we should leave now before it actually shows up. If we are lucky, the wolf here is not the last one left and the Core Formation Realm demon beast has not yet finished off the pack of wolf demon beasts yet..."

Seeing Hui Ying clutching on to her weapon as she looked ready to fight whatever showed up following behind the now dead wolf demon beast, Bai Ning rolled his eyes at her sudden bravery before grabbing hold of her to escape towards the large hill in the distance.

Swish-!

As long as they could make it through the portal leading out of the jungle, they would no longer have to worry about fighting the powerful Core Formation Realm demon beast. The only problem, was whether or not they could make it in time and if there really was some kind of demon beast blocking the portal out of the jungle.

...

"Hah... This is... Hah... The portal out of this jungle...?"

Standing on top of the large hill, Hui Ying barely managed to say this as she exhaustedly looked down towards a small pond of water at the other side of the hill.

Given that she had not fully managed to recover enough to use her movement technique for more than a few minutes, she had almost ended up fully exhausting all of her energy by getting to the top of the hill.

"Yes... Take some time to recover, I will scout out the situation first."

Nodding his head as he said this, Bai Ning watched as Hui Ying exhaustedly collapsed on the ground before she started focusing all of her attention towards recovering her qi.

Whoosh~!

As Hui Ying was recovering, Bai Ning didn't waste any time moving down towards the portal to see if there was any demon beasts lurking around the area that would make it difficult for them to approach.

"Hm? This is-!?"

Stopping only a short distance away from the portal located inside the pond of water, Bai Ning could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine as he suddenly realized that there was a massive snake coiled around the pond of water.

From a distance, the aura leaking out from this massive snake was more than enough to make Bai Ning freeze on the spot as he felt his entire body trembling all over.

Peak of the Core Formation Realm!

Even if the snake was sleeping at the moment and hadn't discovered him yet, Bai Ning was certain that it would wake up the moment he and Hui Ying tried to enter the pond of water to leave through the portal below the surface of the water... And given the strength of the massive snake, he understood that they would have no way to swim through the portal before the snake caught up to them...

Swish~

Knowing that he would have to look for another way through the portal that did not involve just charging straight into the pond and hoping that the massive snakes speed was slow enough that he and Hui Ying could make it through the portal before being swallowed by it, Bai Ning quietly mad his way back to the top of the hill where Hui Ying was still busy doing her best to recover as much qi as she could with the limited time they had left.

Rumble~!

ROOOOOOAR-!

"This... The Core Formation Realm demon beast that was busy fighting with the pack of wolf demon beasts!?"

Suddenly hearing a loud rumbling sound in the distance followed by a loud roar filled with killing intent, Bai Ning could not help narrowing his eyes as a frown appeared on his face.

Now that the powerful Core Formation Realm demon beast behind them had finished up the group of wolf demon beasts, the time available to them before they would have to escape would at most be a minute or two...!

Report chapter Comments

"Hui Ying, we have to leave. Now!"

Feeling like time was running out as he could see a large creature moving through the jungle towards their current location, Bai Ning decided to wake Hui Ying up from her current state of meditation.

"Huh?"

Looking around herself with a confused expression on her face for a short moment as she spaced out after having been forced out of her meditation by Bai Ning, Hui Ying soon showed a fearful expression on her face as she saw the massive demon beast barrelling through the jungle below towards their current location.

Even without Bai Ning saying anything, it did not take her more than a few seconds to understand what was happening after seeing the demon beast getting closer and closer to them with each passing second.

"Is the way to the portal out of here safe...?"

Understanding that they would have to move immediately if they wanted to escape before the demon beast approaching the hill they were on top of, Hui Ying turned to look towards Bai Ning standing beside her as she asked this.

"No, there is a Peak Core Formation Realm demon beast guarding the area around the portal..." Shaking his head as he said this, Bai Ning didn't look at Hui Ying as he was busy trying to figure out a way that they could slip past the massive sleeping snake without getting discover.

"A Peak Core Formation Realm demon beast..." Muttering this to herself as she looked down towards the pond of water where the portal out of the jungle was located, Hui Ying could not help feeling a shiver run down her spine remembering their encounter with two Core Formation Realm demon beasts when they had first entered the jungle.

Although those two Core Formation Realm demon beasts were powerful, there was still a huge difference between them and a demon beast at that had reached the Peak of the Core Formation Realm!

Roar-!

"We have to leave this place!"

"Yeah... Maybe we can try to hide close to the snake demon beast and hope that it will get distracted long enough for us to slip through the portal without getting noticed..."

As the demon beast got closer and closer, Bai Ning and Hui Ying both began to move down the mountain before cautiously approaching the pond of water with the massive snake demon beast coiled around it.

The only way that either of them had come up with to leave without getting eaten by the massive snake demon beast, was using the other Core Formation Realm demon beast approaching their current location as a distraction.

Despite the fact that this did sound like a great idea, Bai Ning and Hui Ying both understood that doing this could possibly result in both of them dying if the massive snake decided to ignore the approaching demon beast... Or worse, kill them before the other demon beast showed up!

Hissss~!

Hearing the loud hissing sound that came from the direction of the pond of water as the roaring from the distance got louder and louder, both Hui Ying and Bai Ning could not help feeling a shiver run down their spine.

The snake demon beast had woken up!

Not only that, but Bai Ning and Hui Ying could clearly feel a pair of cold eyes locking on to both of them as they continued moving towards the pond of water hiding the portal out of the jungle.

Even without seeing the snake, both of them understood that the snake guarding the way out had already discovered them!

"..."

Understanding that one wrong move could result in the snake demon beast attacking and killing them, Bai Ning did not dare get a single step closer to the pond of water as he froze on the spot.

"W-w-what should we do now...!?"

Freezing on the spot next to Bai Ning as she also felt the gaze of the snake demon beast landing on her, Hui Ying started trembling all over as she nervously turned towards Bai Ning who had similarly frozen on the spot beside her.

"This... Let's try and move back for now, it doesn't look like it wants to attack us..."

Almost whispering this to Hui Ying, fearful that the snake would attack them if they were too loud, Bai Ning and Hui Ying both began to slowly move backwards before they felt the chilling gaze of the massive snake disappearing. Allowing both of them to let out a sigh of relief.

"Looks like we won't be able to get any closer to the pond of water without being attacked by the snake... Let's try and move around it for now, when the two demon beasts start fighting with each other, we can try to move closer to the pond of water."

"Yes!"

Swoosh~!

Swoosh~!

Understanding the seriousness of their current predicament, Bai Ning and Hui Ying used what little energy they had left in them to move through the jungle to the other side of the pond of water where the snake demon beast was located-

ROOOOOOAR-!

Just barely making it before the demon beast that had been following them appeared on top of the large hill that the pond of water was located beside. Allowing both Bai Ning and Hui Ying to get a good look at the demon beast for the first time since they had learnt about its presence.

Standing more than ten meters tall, the demon beast was covered in a thick layer of fur and two large paws with a pair of deadly claws attached to them. If not for the fact that the demon beast also had a large pair of deer like horns and scales covering a large part of both its stomach and hands, it would not have been wrong to describe the demon beast as an oversized bear...

"Let's hope we don't have to fight it..."

"Yeah..."

Watching the massive demon beast on top of the large hill staring down towards the pond of water filled with killing intent, both Bai Ning and Hui Ying sincerely hoped that they would not have to fight with it...

Hisss-!The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

Luckily for them, it seemed like the snake demon beast was not the slightest bit afraid of the large bear like demon beast, as it angrily hissed at it the moment it started making its way down the large hill towards the pond of water.

Now we just have to wait...

Narrowing both his eyes as he thought this to himself, Bai Ning quietly waited for a chance to rush towards the pond of water together with Hui Ying.

...

Roar-!

Letting out a warning roar after it realized that there was a similarly powerful demon beast in the Peak of the Core Formation Realm blocking its path towards the thieves that had stolen its Dream Soul Flower, the bear like demon beast didn't want to fight with it and clearly signalled that it just wanted to pass through without fighting.

Hisssss-!

However, different from what the bear like demon beast had expected, the massive snake didn't budge an inch and instead gave out a loud hissing sound filled with killing intent as it got closer.

Roar...?

Not understanding why, the snake demon beast was blocking its path for no reason, the bear like demon beast froze on the spot for a short moment as it tried figuring out why it had been stopped. Given its current strength, the snake demon beast should have let it pass through its territory without fighting!

Did the snake perhaps discover the spiritual herb...?

As its brain worked overtime, this thought suddenly appeared in the head of the bear like demon beast. If the snake demon beast that was also at the Peak of the Core Formation Realm discovered that spiritual herb, it would make sense for it to try and stop it!

ROOOOOOOAR-!

Having concluded why the snake demon beast was blocking its path, a terrifying killing intent erupted from the ten-meter-tall bear like demon beast followed by fear inspiring roar that caused both Bai Ning and Hui Ying standing on the other side of the pond of water watching to shake all over.

Hisssss?

Seeing that the bear like demon beast suddenly erupted with a terrifying killing intent, the snake demon beast could not help feeling confused upon realizing that its opponent had not backed down and was instead getting ready for a fight...

What in the world is wrong with this oversized bear with a tail? Why does it suddenly want to start a fight!?

Not knowing what to think of the oversized bear that had suddenly shown up at its sleeping spot to attack it, the snake demon beast momentary confusion allowed the its opponent to attack first-

Swish-!

BANG!

Reaching the snake in an instant, the bear like demon beast violently smashed down at the snake. Not showing any mercy after it had concluded that the snake demon beast was after its spiritual herb to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm!

Report chapter Comments

Bang!

Observing the fight between the massive snake and the bear like demon beast taking place not too far away from them, both Bai Ning and Hui Ying could not help feeling a shiver run down their spine as they saw the destruction caused by the two demon beasts clashing with each other.

Even without having fought with any of the two demon beasts themselves, both of them understood just how large the difference between them and the demon beasts was!

"Looks like they are really fighting with each other... Let's see if we can get closer to the pond of water!"

Not wasting any time after seeing that the two demon beasts were busy fighting with each other, Bai Ning took the lead as he slowly began moving closer to the pond of water that the portal out of the jungle was located inside of. Making sure to keep an eye on the massive snake in case it spotted them.

Rustle~

Moving through the thick foliage of the jungle that surrounded the pond of water like this, it did not take them more than a few minutes before they reached the edge of the pond of water.

Luckily for both of them, the fight between the two demon beasts did not calm down in slightest during the last few minutes and instead only ended up growing more intense. Not allowing them to pay much attention to their surroundings as they fought with all their might.

Of course, with such a large fight taking place, it inevitably ended up catching the attention of different demon beast living nearby that were similarly in the Core Formation Realm. Although these demon beasts were not close to the snake and bear like demon beast in strength, they were still stronger than Bai Ning and Hui Ying!

Roar!

Roar!

Roar!

As the fight grew more intense and blood covered the large jungle trees, the roars of these demon beasts grew closer with each passing second and would soon reach the place where Bai Ning and Hui Ying were standing!

Where Stories Blossom: NvεlB¡n.

"We have to go now, or the snake demon beast discovering us will be the last thing we have to worry about!"

Splash-!

Splash-!

Understanding that they had no more time to wait around for an opportunity when the snake demon beast got further away from the pond of water, Bai Ning took the lead as both of them jumped into the pond of water before swimming towards the bottom of it where a small whirlpool shaped portal was spinning.

Even if it was hard to see, the other side of the whirlpool portal slowly grew visible as they got closer.

Different from what both of them had been expecting to be on the other side of the portal, a lush cave filled with all sorts of ancient vegetation that had long since gone extinct was what entered their view after they got close enough. No signs of any dangerous demon beasts or other things that could threaten them was visible on the other side of the portal. Allowing both Bai Ning and Hui Ying to let out a sigh of relief as they continued towards the whirlpool shaped portal at the bottom of the pond.

The fact that both of them jumped into the lake was of course sensed by the two large demon beasts fighting in the distance-

Hissss-!

ROOOAR-!

Causing both of them to stop fighting as they rushed back towards the pond of water, the snake wanting to stop them from entering the whirlpool portal, while the bear like demon beast thought that the snake was trying to get its hands on the Dream Soul Flower before escaping with it.

Given the fact that the snake demon beast was by far faster than itself from what it had experienced so far, it was not too odd to think that this was the case. Especially considering that the snake demon beast had been on the losing side during their fight and was covered in blood with several large wounds all over its body at the moment.

Just a few more minutes of fighting and the bear like demon beast was certain that it would have been able to kill the snake!

Splash-!

Splash-!

How is that snake even faster in the water!?

Looking behind himself to see the two demon beast entering the water, Bai Ning could not help cursing to himself after discovering that the speed of the snake demon beast had seemingly doubled after it entered the water.

Even if they were only a few seconds away from the whirlpool located at the bottom, with the speed of the snake demon beast, it would be able to catch up to them before that!

Haa... I really didn't want to do this...

Knowing that he would have to do something to delay the snake demon beast before it could catch up to them, Bai Ning had a painful expression on his face as he took out all the artifacts he had made ever since entering the Star Shattering Sect before pushing them upwards in the direction of the snake demon beast while forcefully activating all the energy stored inside the artifacts-

The sheer amount of qi present in all the artifacts Bai Ning had pushed towards the snake demon beast instantly caused a terrifying aura of destruction to engulf the pond and area outside the pond. Even if the level the artifacts were not that heigh, Bai Ning had overloaded all of them and had caused them to enter a state of self-destruction as the energy stored inside them began to rapidly destroy the artifact they were inside of before merging together with the energy of the surrounding artifacts-

Rumble-!

As the energy of the different artifacts that had now disappeared merged together, the aura of destruction grew even stronger than before!

Hiss-!

Realizing how dangerous its current situation was, the snake demon beast wanted to turn around to dodge it... But just as it was about to retreat, the massive gathering of energy seemed to have reached a critical level as it violently exploded in front of the snake demon beast-

BOOOOOOOM-!

Not able to dodge the violent explosion, the snake demon beast was directly launched flying out of the pond together with the bear like demon beast that had been following behind it.

Bang!

Even if most of the power from the explosion had been directed upwards towards the two demon beasts chasing after them, Bai Ning and Hui Ying were both pushed down towards the whirlpool shaped portal at the bottom of the pond by the force of the explosion.

BANG-!

Crack~

Being launched through the portal the next moment, both of them smashed head first into the rocky ground on the other side of the portal.

Even with his strength having reached the Peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm, the force with which he had smashed into the ground was more than enough to render him unable to move for a short moment.

Hui Ying who was weaker than Bai Ning was in a far worse situation, as she ended up fainting shortly after having smashed into the ground on the other side of the whirlpool shaped portal...

"Hm? The portal..."

As he recovered enough energy to move around a bit, Bai Ning turned to look back towards the location of the whirlpool shaped portal. Only to see that the portal had begun to rapidly close up after they had passed through it.

From this alone, it was obvious that the portal should have run out of energy after they had used it-

ROOOOOAAAAR-!

Suddenly hearing a loud roaring sound coming from the portal, Bai Ning could not help letting out a sigh of relief upon seeing the whirlpool shaped portal close just before the bear like demon beast could catch up to them and pass through the portal.

Although both the demon beasts had been launched flying by the explosion that all of his artifacts had caused after their self-destruction, the bear like demon beast had very clearly been far less affected and had almost managed to catch up with them again!

"Luckily the portal closed before it could chase after us..." Muttering this to himself as he looked towards the place where the whirlpool shaped portal had been located only a few seconds ago, Bai Ning took out the communication talisman that had been given to him before trying to contact the elders who had come along with them during the clean-up of demonic cultivators inside the Azure Sky Kingdom.

"Bai Ning? Is there anything you need help with?"

"Yes! Hui Ying is injured and..."

Hearing a voice from the communication, Bai Ning could not help feeling a sense of relief washing over him as he quickly informed the elder on the other side about Hui Ying's current state without saying anything about the jungle they had been trapped in for the past few weeks.

Whoosh~

"Ah! There you two are!"

Only a few minutes after he had used the communication talisman, an elder in the Nascent Soul Realm appeared at the entrance of the cave they were inside.

Swish-!

Not wasting any time after realizing both of them were injured quite badly, the elder didn't say anything more, as he directly fed both of them a medical pill to stabilize their injuries before carrying both of the out of the cave towards the Star Shattering Sect.

Report chapter Comments

At the same time Bai Ning and Hui Ying were picked up by one of the elders in charge of looking after the disciples who were exterminating the demonic cultivators that had infiltrated the Azure Sky Kingdom, Qing Yi who had been strengthening her foundation over the past month opened her eyes before a small frown appeared on her face.

"I have already reached the Peak of the Core Formation Realm and have improved my foundation according to what master said... But for some reason, I still feel like I haven't reached my limit yet..."

Turning her attention towards her dantian as she said this, Qing Yi felt that she had reached a bottleneck when it came to improving her foundation anymore. Although she could still break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, she understood that she would not be anywhere near Chu Yang after he had reached the Nascent Soul Realm when she did so!

Maybe I should look for Chu Yang and ask him...?

Hesitating for a short time when she thought about asking Chu Yang for advice on how to further strengthen her foundation, Qing Yi soon got up before moving towards the Combat Hall of the sect.

Ever since the Combat Hall had been constructed and had its formations further strengthened after its construction, it had already become the most used training location for the disciples and elders of the Star Shattering Sect.

The main reason for this being that the Combat Hall's formation were now strong enough to resist anyone below the Domain Lord Realm. Making it a perfect place for the elders in the Nascent Soul Realm to train... And it was also for this reason that Chu Yang had ended up spending most of his time since reaching the Nascent Soul Realm inside the Combat Hall sparring with the different Nascent Soul Realm Experts of the Star Shattering Sect.

...

"He should be in here..."

Arriving in front of the Combat Hall, Qing Yi came to a stop as she looked at the large number of disciples gathered in front of the Combat Hal with excited expressions on their faces.

Where did all of these disciples come from... And why are they just standing around without entering?

Seeing the large gathering of disciples in front of the Combat Hall, Qing Yi curiously tilted her head to the side as she began guessing the reason why so many disciples had suddenly gathered in front of the Combat Hall without entering.

Is something special happening in the Combat Hall. Perhaps another one of Elder Song's tournaments? Given how many events Elder Song arranges for both the outer, inner and core disciples of the sect, this does seem to make sense...

Smiling wryly as she began remembering the countless different events that were arranged by Elder Song after he officially became the Vice Sect Master, Qing Yi decided to just approach the large group of disciples standing in front of the Combat Hall and ask instead of trying to remember the long list of events that could be found on different information boards around the sect.

"Hm? This..."

However after walking up to the entrance of the Combat Hall where all the disciple were gathered with excited expressions on their faces did she discover that they were not waiting for a tournament to begin-

Boom-boom-boom!

Instead, they were all watching a fight that was taking place inside the Combat Hall through a screen that had been formed by one of the elders in charge of the Combat Hall with the help of the formations making up the Combat Hall.

"Wait... Isn't that Chu Yang!?"

Getting closer to the screen showing the fight taking place inside the Combat Hall, Qing Yi could not help freezing on the spot upon discovering that one of the two people fighting was actually the person she had come looking for!

Even more surprising was the fact that he was currently fighting evenly with an elder in the Third Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm while only being in the First Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm himself!

After seeing just how much stronger than her Chu Yang had grown after he had reached the Nascent Soul Realm, Qing Yi felt even more determined than before to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm herself and catch up to him.

At the same time, she also no longer felt hesitant about asking him for help with strengthening her foundation.

Swish~

Not waiting around outside the Combat Hall to watch the fight that looked like it was about to come to an end, Qing Yi entered the Combat Hall before moving towards the practice room that Chu Yang was currently fighting inside of.

Arriving in front of the entrance to the practice room that Chu Yang was inside, Qing Yi had no idea what to say when she saw the large number of female disciples waiting in front of the entrance.

"The elder and senior brother should be fighting in here. Right?"

"Yeah! I can't wait to see that senior brother for myself!"

"True, that senior brother should be one of Grand Elder Xuan's disciples if I'm not wrong! Hehe, I wonder if that senior brother is looking for a dao partner~"Where Stories Blossom: NvεlB¡n.

Listening to the conversation and seeing the lovestruck expression on the faces of most of the disciple standing in front of the entrance, Qing Yi could not help frowning as she began to understand why these disciples had decided to stand in front of the entrance to practice room Chu Yang was inside of instead of watching the fight taking place inside through the screen created by one of the elders outside the Combat Hall.

I wonder what kind of reaction that guy will have when he leaves the practice room...

Looking over the large number of female disciples, Qing Yi could not help looking forward to what kind of reaction Chu Yang would have when a large crowd of female disciples "attacked" him.

Creak~

Just at this moment, the door leading inside the practice room slowly began opening.

"He is coming out!"

"Wah-! Let me stand in the front!"

"No, let me!"

"Ah! Don't push me!"

Watching as the crowd of what could only be described as fangirls began pushing each other around to get closer to the door that was slowly opening, Qing Yi could not help feeling a shiver run down her spine as part of her began worrying about Chu Yang.

"Hm? How come so many of you little ones are here?"

However, to the disappointment of the many disciples waiting excitedly in front of the door, the one who came out from the practice room was not Chu Yang, but instead it was the elder in the Third Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm that he had been sparring with inside the practice room!

"Ah! It's Elder Meng!"

Swoosh~!

Swoosh~!

Swoosh~!

Followed by the panicked scream of one of the female disciples, the rest of the disciples waiting in front of the entrance to the practice room for an opportunity to see Chu Yang up close, scattered at a speed that surprised both Elder Meng and Qing Yi who had made sure not to get too close to the group of female disciples.

Elder Meng...?

Watching the speed at which the group of female disciples had scattered, Qing Yi could not stop herself from curiously looking over the person who had just left the practice room.

Looking like what would be more aptly described as a young girl, Elder Meng stood at the entrance to the practice room with a massive hammer held firmly in both her hands as she looked in the direction of the fleeing female disciples.

She should be an elder from the Spring Flower Sect...

Not recognizing Elder Meng as any of the Elders from the Flying Sword Sect, Qing Yi quickly realized that Elder Meng should be one of the Nascent Soul Realm Elders from the Spring Flower Sect before they had merged together.

As for her being a member of the Half Spirit Race... Well... She was not that small...

"Hm? Qing Yi? What are you doing here?"

Just as Qing Yi was caught up in her own thoughts, the familiar voice of her master's second disciple and her JUNIOR brother echoed out across the now mostly empty passage of the Combat Hall.

"Ah? Ah! I had something to ask you about, so I came here... Is now a suitable time?"

Feeling a bit nervous as she was about to ask him for help with how to got about strengthening her foundation further in preparation for breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm, Qing Yi's voice ended up becoming far more gentle than usual as she said this.

"Hm? Sure, I just finished training for today and don't have anything else planned. Ah, Elder Meng, thanks for taking the time to have a battle with me."

"Haha, no problem at all! I will get going and let you two do your own thing! Bye bye~!"

Swish~!

As Elder Meng disappeared shortly after saying goodbye, Qing Yi told Chu Yang about what she needed help with as both of them headed back towards their master's palace together not long after. Making sure to dodge the crowd outside the Combat Hall along the way...

Report chapter Comments

Returning back to their master's palace, Chu Yang was more than happy to help out Qing Yi with strengthening her foundation and helping her get ready to undergo the Cloud Tribulation that one would have to pass through before reaching the Nascent Soul Realm.

"Now all you have to do is further strengthen your core this way and-"

Although she was still a bit hesitant when receiving Chu Yang's help at the start, it did not take long before Qing Yi began to seriously listening to Chu Yang as she began to follow his guidance.

"Hm!? This is… My foundation is actually getting stronger again!"

Not even a few minutes after she had first started following Chu Yang's guidance, did Qing Yi realize that her foundation that had stagnated over the past few days finally showed signs of improving again.

Even if part of her might still be a bit hesitant deep down, after feeling her foundation growing stronger, this deep-seated hesitation completely disappeared as she began to wholeheartedly follow Chu Yang's guidance.

Like this, Qing Yi sealed herself off as she once again began focusing all of her attention on improving her foundation to its limit with the guidance from Chu Yang.

The next time she would leave secluded cultivation, would be when she was ready to attempt breaking through to the Nascent Soul Realm!

…

At the same time Qing Yi was doing her best trying to improve her foundation to the limit before trying to reach the Nascent Soul Realm, Xuan Hao arrived at a small mountain before looking into the distance where a large city that seemed to stretch on forever was barely visible.

"The Capital City of the Sky Empire…"

Narrowing both his eyes as he quietly said this, Xuan Hao could not help remembering what he had gone through over the past few weeks.

Not to mention that he had to pass through several dangerous locations similar to the Great Poison Swamp and the Thousand Wind Mountains where he had to do his best to avoid ending up in any dangerous situation that might end up kill him or trapping him for an unknown period of time, he also had to deal with the numerous different demon beast that inhabited most of the Sky Empire's territory.

Although most of the demon beast that had come to attack him along the journey were only in the Nascent Soul Realm, they grew stronger the closer he got to the capital city of the Sky Empire, some even reaching the Domain Lord Realm!

To be honest, Xuan Hao had ended up encountering far more demon beast compared to humans on his journey towards the capital city of the Sky Empire so far. Allowing him to understand why most of the cities and kingdoms he had seen along the way were all guarded by some kind of formation that would keep out the demon beasts that were present outside the small territories that had fallen under human control.

In a sense, without anyone in the Domain Lord Realm, it was pretty much impossible for a kingdom or sect to grow in the core region of the Sky Empire. Even with the support of a Domain Lord Realm Expert, it would still be difficult to expand beyond a certain size without having to constantly deal with demon beasts trying to invade one's territory.

The abundance of resources in the core region of the Sky Empire was also something Xuan Hao witnessed first-hand… The only downside was that one would need the strength to claim these resources without dying to the countless demon beasts roaming around inside the core region of the Sky Empire!

All of this was completely different from the outer region of the Sky Empire, where things were far safer and land was hard to come by and would often have to be fought over with adjacent kingdoms.

Whoosh~!

Standing on top of the small mountain as he was lost in thought for a short moment, Xuan Hao suddenly saw a small flying ship landing not too far away from him before a group of armoured people got out and began killing off a group of demon beasts that were moving towards the capital city in the distance.

"Hm?"

Looking closer at the group of people that had left the small flying ship to deal with the group of demon beasts that were in the process of getting one-sidedly beaten up, Xuan Hao could not help showing a surprised expression on his face after realizing that the weakest person among the soldiers killing the demon beasts had actually reached the Seventh Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm while the strongest among them had already reached the Peak of the Nascent Soul Realm. Inside the flying ship, the presence of a First Stage Domain Lord could also be felt!The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

The strength of this small hit squad in charge of dealing with a group of demon beasts that were only around the Core Formation Realm with the strongest only barely having reached the First Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, was more than enough for Xuan Hao to understand just how strong the Sky Empire was compared to any of the kingdoms or sects he had been to so far.

If a small hit squad like this already had a Domain Lord in it, how strong would the overall strength of the Sky Empire be?

Thinking this to himself, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit sceptical about the number of Domain Lord Realm Experts inside the Sky Empire that was listed inside the book Yi Min had given him.

According to that book, there should only be around 200 Domain Lords inside the Sky Empire… But given that even someone like himself was still not listed inside the book as a Domain Lord Realm Expert, Xuan Hao felt that the number of Domain Lord Realm Experts inside the Sky Empire should already have exceeded the two or so hundred that were listed inside the book!

Whoosh~!

Watching as the Nascent Soul Realm Experts dealt with the demon beasts below before gathering the corpses and putting them away inside an interspatial ring before they returned to the flying ship and left in the direction of the capital city, Xuan Hao felt amazed at the speed at which they had dealt with the demon beasts and left without leaving anything behind.

Even if their strength had far surpassed the demon beasts they were dealing with, their coordination and speed was not something Xuan Hao had ever seen before and was testament to the discipline among the soldiers of the Sky Empire.

"I should also get going…"

Glancing in the direction that the flying Ship had left, Xuan Hao stepped off the peak of the small mountain before flying in the direction of the capital city that only seemed to grow larger the closer he got to it.

…

Thump~!

Landing on the ground a short distance away from the massive wall covered in all sorts of ancient divine symbols that glowed gently under the sunlight, Xuan Hao took some time to take in the sight of the massive wall that was essentially a part of a giant formation that covered the entire capital city of the Sky Empire.

"This formation… I will most likely end up dead if I get trapped by it…" Muttering this to himself with a wry smile on his face as he investigated the divine looking ancient symbols that connected the massive wall of the city together with thousands of different formations that connected together to form one single formation.

Even when compared to the realm destruction formation he had encountered back in the secret realm, it was not too far behind when it came to complexity.

As for the power of the formation itself, Xuan Hao would had no idea with his current understanding of formations. Maybe if the formation was activated, he would have a chance to get an idea on just how powerful it was.

In the end, no matter what, he still understood that he stood no chance against the powerful formation covering the capital of the Sky Empire…

Well… Not that I plan to face off against that formation…

Shaking his head as he thought about this, Xuan Hao slowly made his way towards the massive gate that served as the entrance to the capital city before stopping at the end of a long line of people slowly moving in through the gate after a quick inspection by the guards standing at the gate.

Given his current strength, Xuan Hao didn't doubt that he would be able to enter the capital city without having to go through this process by simply showing his strength and informing the guards about his identity… But for now, he decided against giving away against that, as he still had a little under a week before the meeting for the Sect Alliance officially began.

During this period of time leading up to the meeting, he wanted to look through the capital city of the Sky Empire and get a little more familiar with the different powers standing at the top of the Sky Empire without getting involved in anything with the Sky Empire's imperial family that would almost certainly send someone to look for him after he announced his identity at the gate…

Report chapter Comments

Waiting in the slow moving line for a little over an hour to enter the capital city of the Sky Empire, Xuan Hao did not have any problems entering after reaching the gate and paying the guards a few spirit stones as entrance fee.

Even the formation that he worried about stopping him due to his cultivation base did not do anything when he made his way through the gate and entered the capital city. From this alone, it was obvious that his strength had not yet reached a level where he would be considered a threat to the capital that would have to get permission to enter.

Considering the fact that the people on top of the Sky Empire had all reached the Soul Ascension Realm, this was not too odd, as the difference in strength between the Soul Ascension Realm and the Domain Lord Realm was not something that could easily be crossed. Even with his current strength that could be considered far above that of a normal Domain Lord Realm Expert, Xuan Hao could only barely fight with a Soul Ascension Realm Expert and had no way to kill the other party...

Calming down after looking away from the ancient divine symbols gently glowing on the gate and the wall behind him, Xuan Hao could not help showing a surprised expression on his face as he looked at the busy streets and large buildings in front of him made out of all sorts of different rare spiritual materials.

Inspecting the strength of the different people moving around on the streets, Xuan Hao was even more surprised after finding out that almost all of the people walking around had at least reached the Foundation Establishment. Even finding a single person who was in the Qi Condensation Realm was difficult outside of the children who had only just started cultivating!

"So, this is the capital city of the Sky Empire..."

Seeing just how strong the normal people walking along the streets of the city was, Xuan Hao began to understand why so many Nascent Soul Realm Experts and Domain Lord Realm Experts could appear in the core of the Sky Empire compared to the outer region.

Of course the most important factor that allowed this to happen was still the abundant resources and denser qi present in the core region of the Sky Empire...

"Hm?"

The initial posting of this chapter occurred via N0v3l.B11n.

Feeling someone looking at him as he was inspecting the strength of the people walking around him on the busy streets, Xuan Hao narrowed both of his eyes as he turned to look towards a middle aged man standing not too far away.

Domain Lord... And someone in the Fourth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm! Did he perhaps sense my divine sense when I looked around...?

Seeing through the strength of the middle-aged man looking towards him in an instant, Xuan Hao could not help smiling wryly after realizing that the other party had most likely sensed his divine sense when he used it to find out the strength of the different people on the streets of the capital just now.

To be honest, this was quite surprising to Xuan Hao, as he had specifically limited his divine sense, so it didn't spread more than a few hundred meters around him and even made sure to avoid any of the guards standing around the wall and gate of the city...

With all of this in mind, even if an ordinary Domain Lord Realm Expert in the earlier stages had been around, it would be impossible for them to pick up his divine sense!

The problem was... He didn't expect for there to actually be someone in the middle stages of the Domain Lord Realm present!

Rustle~

Watching as the middle-aged man staring directly at him slowly got up from the small restaurant he was sitting in before making his way over towards him, Xuan Hao decided to wait for the other part. Feeling quite curious as to what the man would want from him knowing the difference in their strength.

After all, even if the man in the Fourth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm could just barely pick up his divine sense, he would have no idea to see through the strength of his divine sense with his current strength.

Although this allowed Xuan Hao's true cultivation realm to be hidden from the man, it also allowed the man to understand the difference in strength between them. Even if he was not clear about Xuan Hao's strength, he would at the very least be clear that he was at least someone in the later stages of the Domain Lord Realm!

"Greetings senior! I'm Elder Scarlet Flame from the Sunfire Sect. If I'm not being too rude asking, are you perhaps also here for the sect alliance meeting next week?"

Hearing what the middle-aged man asked him after walking over Xuan Hao could not help showing a surprised expression on his face. Given how rare sects with Domain Lords in them were compared to kingdoms with Domain Lord Realm Experts in them, Xuan Hao didn't expect to actually run into one of the rare few Domain Lord Realm Experts from a sect after just entering the capital city.

Not to mention, he seemed to remember that Qing Yi had made friends with someone from the Sunfire Sect during the alchemy competition in the Iron Sky Kingdom!

How odd... If I don't remember wrongly, the current Domain Lord Realm Expert in charge of the Sunfire Sect should be in the earlier stages of the Domain Lord Realm and more important... Should be a woman. Not a middle-aged man...

"Yes, I'm also here for the sect alliance meeting... But if I don't remember wrongly, the Sunfire Sect only has a single Domain Lord and that person should be a woman..."

Deciding to say this, Xuan Hao curiously looked towards the man standing in front of him. Wanting to know if he was really someone from the Sunfire Sect or not.

"Ah, that... I'm actually the dao partner of the current sect master and just recently came back from exploring some ancient ruins located outside the Sky Empire and haven't really shown my current strength enough for those people to find out about it. If I'm not wrong, you should be in a similar situation senior..."

Listening to what the self-proclaimed dao partner of the Sunfire Sect's sect master said, Xuan Hao felt that what he said made sense.

Given that even he had still not been listed inside the list of Domain Lord Realm Experts of the Sky Empire, it was obvious that there would be other people in a similar situation as himself, Xuan Hao just didn't expect to meet someone like that so fast. Not to mention, the other party also said that he was the dao partner of the Sunfire Sect's sect master...

"Senior, I'm telling the truth! See!"

Clearly feeling Xuan Hao's suspicious look the moment he said that he was the current dao partner of the Sunfire Sect's sect master, the middle-aged man quickly took out the invitation to the sect alliance meeting for the Sunfire Sect and showed it to him.

"This... I guess you are telling the truth, I just didn't expect for the sect master to have such a powerful dao partner..."

Seeing the middle-aged man get ready to pull out the family paintings from his interspatial ring after not getting a reaction from him after showing off the invitation to the sect alliance meeting, Xuan Hao stopped him as he said this.

"But... Is there something you need from me?" Understanding very well that the man in front of him would not try so hard to convince him about his identity for no reason, Xuan Hao narrowed both of his eyes before asking this the moment the man put away one of the family painting he had pulled managed to pull out before Xuan Hao stopped him.

Even if one of his disciples had grown friendly with someone from the Sunfire Sect and he had a good impression from his short encounter with the people from the Sunfire Sect, Xuan Hao understood that the attitude of a few people was far from enough to get a good grasp over what kind of sect the Sunfire Sect was.

For all he knew, the Sunfire Sect could be a hidden demonic sect similar to the Black Rose Sect that had disappeared into the thin air after being found out!

"Actually... There is something I wanted to ask you about after finding out you were also here for the sect alliance meeting..."

"So... What is it?"

Not feeling the slightest hint of surprise after hearing what the man said, Xuan Hao patiently looked towards him as he waited to hear what it was.

"This... Let's go to a more quiet place first, the things I want to talk about are not really good to discuss out in the open..."

"Sure, you lead the way."

Feeling even more curious about what this Elder Scarlet Flame wanted to talk about, Xuan Hao didn't hesitate to follow after him to a more isolated place inside the capital city...

Report chapter Comments

Moving through the busy streets of the capital city, Xuan Hao soon saw that the number of people around him began decreasing before everyone except for a few weaker people around the Foundation Establishment Realm were left on the street.

Even without knowing where he was being led, Xuan Hao understood that it should be somewhere quiet and far away from any of the normal crowded streets that looked like they were everywhere inside the capital city upon first passing through the massive gates.

"We are here. Follow me."

Coming to a stop in front of a small inn after close to half an hour of walking, Elder Scarlet Flame opened the door leading inside the inn before signalling for him to follow.

"…"

Standing in front of the inn without entering immediately, Xuan Hao could not help feeling curious about what Elder Scarlet Flame wanted from him. Even without entering the inn, he could still feel several powerful auras that had all reached the Domain Lord Realm. The strongest among them had even reached the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm and was rather close to breaking through to the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm.

Even inside the Sky Empire, such a gathering of experts could normally not be found outside of the largest factions and even then, it would not be easy to gather so many Domain Lord Realm Experts together!NvεlB¡n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales.

Creak~!

Stepping onto the wooden steps leading inside the rather high up door to the inn, Xuan Hao stepped inside before curiously inspecting the group of Domain Lord Realm Experts he had sensed from outside the inn.

This… There are more people in here than I expected…

After inspecting the group of people, Xuan Hao was shocked to discover that other than the seven Domain Lord Realm Experts that were sitting around inside the inn, there was also close to twenty or so Peak Nascent Soul Realm Experts sitting around the inn in small groups chatting with each other.

Because he had focused most of his attention on the powerful aura belonging to the Domain Lord Realm Experts and had not used his divine sense to investigate the situation inside the inn earlier, he had accidently ended up ignoring the large number of weaker Nascent Soul Realm Experts that were also present inside the inn.

Recognizing most of the Domain Lord Realm Experts present as the leaders of different sects inside the Sky Empire, Xuan Hao turned to look towards Elder Scarlet Flame standing beside him with a questioning look on his face. Wanting to find out for what reason he had brought him to this rather large gathering of powerful experts from different sect all across the Sky Empire.

"Elder Scarlet Flame, who is this? Someone new you found?"

Before Elder Scarlet Flame had a chance to answer Xuan Hao's questioning look, one of the Domain Lord Realm Experts inside the inn walked over and asked Elder Scarlet Flame with a small smile on his face as he curious looked towards Xuan Hao standing a few meters behind him.

"Ah, senior here is also here for the sect alliance meeting next week and I thought it would be a good idea to also invite him to join us…"

"I see- Wait, Senior!?"

Nodding his head at first as he listened to what Elder Scarlet Flame said, the Domain Lord that had just asked him soon froze as a shocked expression appeared on his face as he heard how Elder Scarlet Flame addressed Xuan Hao.

Obviously, Elder Scarlet Flame had already reached the Fourth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm and could be considered to have reached the middle stage of the Domain Lord Realm. For him to address someone as senior, the other party had to at least have reached the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm!

With this in mind, it was obvious why the Domain Lord Realm Expert had a shocked expression on his face. After all, the strongest person currently present was only someone in the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm.

Although there still was a difference in strength between Domain Lords in the fourth and the sixth stage of the realm. The difference was nowhere near what it was between someone in the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm and someone in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm!

The main reason for this, was that there was that one's strength would experience a rapid period of growth after breaking through from the third to the fourth stage of the Domain Lord Realm and when breaking through from the sixth to the seventh stage of the Domain Lord Realm…

"Senior? Someone in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm actually showed up!?"

"Haha, with the support of a Seventh Stage Domain Lord, we are certain to do better in the upcoming meeting! Even the Sky Empire won't be able to ignore us!"

"But… What sect is this senior from? I don't seem to have seen him before…"

Following what the Domain Lord Realm Expert who walked up said and also hearing the way Elder Scarlet Flame addressed Xuan Hao, the rest of the people sitting around chatting with each other inside the inn quickly turned their attention towards Xuan Hao before all of them began trying to figure out which sect he was from.

"Elder Water Sparrow, let's talk about this with the others in the back room."

Seeing that everyone had focused their attention on them following what both he himself and Elder Water Sparrow said, Elder Scarlet Flame said this while signalling for both Xuan Hao and the other Domain Lord Realm Experts to follow him as he made his way towards a large empty room located in the back of the inn.

…

"So… Elder Scarlet Flame, care to explain to us now?"

Sitting down around a small table at the centre of the room, the Sixth Stage Domain Lord was the first to step forward and ask Elder Scarlet Flame about Xuan Hao. Given that he had been the strongest person present just a few moment ago, he was obviously curious about the person Elder Scarlet Flame had brought back with him.

Other than this, different from the other Domain Lords present who thought Xuan Hao was someone in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, he could clearly feel that Xuan Hao was not just someone in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm. After all, he himself had already taken a step into the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm and was not too far away from reaching it.

If Xuan Hao was really someone in the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm, he would have been able to see through his strength, yet he could not… This made it obvious to him that Xuan Hao should at least be someone in the Eighth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm!

Eighth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm… Even in the entire Sky Empire, such an expert could be considered to stand at the peak among Domain Lord Realm Experts. Only Ninth Stage Domain Lords and those old people just a single step away from the Soul Ascension Realm stood above them!

"Actually, there isn't much to explain, I just happened to run into senior when I was walking around the southern gate and found out that he had also come here for the sect alliance meeting. Hearing this, I thought it would be a good idea to invite him over and ask him to join us for the upcoming meeting. After all, the more Domain Lords we have, the better.

Ehm… Senior, if you don't mind me asking, what sect are you from and what is your name… It seems like I forgot to ask you about this earlier on our way to the inn due to me feeling excited at the prospect of having another Domain Lord join us for the upcoming sect alliance meeting…"

Feeling a bit awkward as he suddenly realized that he had not really asked Xuan Hao about his name or what sect he was from, Elder Scarlet Flame turned towards Xuan Hao as he waited for him to introduce himself. Wondering about what sect he was from like the rest of the Domain Lord Realm Experts.

"I'm a grand elder of the Star Shattering Sect, you can just call me Elder Xuan."

Not seeing any reason to hide his identity from the group of Domain Lord Realm Experts in front of him, as they looked like they wanted him to join their group for something regarding the upcoming sect alliance meeting that the imperial family of the Sky Empire had planned out, Xuan Hao turned towards Elder Scarlet Flame after introducing himself.

"So… What did you bring me here for?"

Narrowing his eyes as he said this, Xuan Hao stared directly at Elder Scarlet Flame. Wanting to find out just what this person wanted from him and how it was related to the upcoming sect alliance meeting.

Report chapter Comments

Hearing Xuan Hao's question, Elder Scarlet Flame and the rest of the Domain Lord Realm Experts all looked at each other for a short moment before coming to an agreement about something-

"If you don't mind, I will explain the situation..."

Not even a second later, Elder Scarlet Flame said this with a somewhat nervous expression on his face.

"That is fine with me."

Understanding that the group of Domain Lords should have talked to Elder Scarlet Flame through their divine sense and given him help as to what he should say, Xuan Hao decided to pretend he didn't notice anything.

At this point in time, he was just curious as to what had caused this group of Domain Lords and the Peak Nascent Soul Realm Experts outside to gather together inside a small inn located in a remote part of the capital city and how it was related to the upcoming sect alliance meeting

"As you already know, the sect alliance meeting is coming up in a few days and the representatives from the different sects inside the Sky Empire are all showing up to join the meeting arranged by the imperial family to decrease the influence of the three big religions that have increasingly increased their power inside the capital over the past few years and they-"

"Yes, I already know about all of this... But how does this relate to you needing my help?"

Feeling like Elder Scarlet Flame was about to start reciting everything about why the sect alliance was being established in detail over the next few hours, Xuan Hao decided to interrupt him before he had a chance to start.

"Ehm... During the meeting, five people who will be in charge of the sect alliance will be decided depending on the sects they can get to support them. All of us here gathered together because of this, to chose someone among us to represent all of our sects in the sect alliance!

The thing I wanted to ask you for help with, was joining us during the upcoming meeting to increase our chances..."

Understanding what Xuan Hao wanted, Elder Scarlet Flame directly told him what he wanted before nervously lowering his head and waiting for Xuan Hao to respond.

"Interesting..." Muttering this to himself after hearing what Elder Scarlet Flame said, Xuan Hao looked around at the surrounding Domain Lords who were all looking towards him with anticipation.

Given how much weaker the sects inside the Sky Empire were compared to the kingdoms, it was almost certain that they would be able to get one of the leader positions with someone in the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm leading them. In a sense, there was no need for them to convince him to help them out during the meeting, as they should already be guaranteed to get a leader position without his help.

"With your current strength, are you not already certain of getting one of the leader positions? Why is there a need for me to join you?" Feeling that things were a bit odd with how everyone looked towards him, Xuan Hao decided to ask the question that was on his mind.

"This..."

In return, Elder Scarlet Flame who had lowered his head just a second ago almost jumped up like a frightened rabbit before nervously looking towards the Sixth Stage Domain Lord Realm Expert who let out a sigh the moment, he heard Xuan Hao's question.

"Allow me to explain... As you already know, the most powerful forces inside the Sky Empire are the different kingdoms under the Sky Empire. Unfortunately, because of this, most of the sects that are joining the upcoming meeting are not independent sects but instead subordinate powers of these kingdoms.

Because of this, even if we gathered most of the independent sects together here, our chances of getting a leading position in the sect alliance when put against those subservient sects are close to non. Especially considering the fact that most of the powerful kingdoms who control these sects are unwilling to give us independent sects any influence..."

"I see, but why did you ask me to join your group? Aren't you afraid that I'm also from a sect under a kingdom?" Hearing what the old man in the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm said, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit confused as he said this.

"Well... To be honest, it's because of your strength!"

"My strength?"

"Yes! Among the different sects in the Sky Empire, not a single one of them have produced someone above the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm due to the different kingdoms constant suppression!"

"Wait! There isn't anyone above the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm among the sects of the Sky Empire!?"

"No, it was also because of this that Elder Scarlet Flame here and the rest of us are certain that you are not under any of those kingdom. Although... I'm quite curious about your sect. For it to still remain unknown inside the Sky Empire even with an expert such as yourself in it!"

Listening to what the old man in the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm said, Xuan Hao had no idea what to say.

Even if he had found it a bit odd that he had never managed to see any sects inside the core region of the Sky Empire without them being located inside the territory of a kingdom, he never expected that it was because of something like this.

Given the number of people he had seen inside the inn, there should only be around 40 independent sects inside the Sky Empire... And even among them, the number of independent sects that actually had any kind of power was less than ten!

But why would independent sects be supressed so much? Even if a sect is independent from a kingdom, it is not much different from a kingdom in the way that it operates and manages its territory... Is it perhaps because of the three large religions?

Not able to shake off the feeling that something was wrong with the suppression of independent sects, Xuan Hao had a feeling that it might be related to the three big religions. After all, different from the kingdoms, the three big religions could not get any faith from the territories managed by sects...Where Stories Blossom: NvεlB¡n.

As for why they could not get any faith, Xuan Hao had at first thought it was due to the difference in their cultivation path... But the cultivation path of the different kingdoms and even the entire Sky Empire was not different and followed the same path, so this idea had quickly been thrown out by Xuan Hao.

In the end, he had no idea why the different religions could not get any faith from the territories of sects.

"There is still a lot I don't know about..."

Understanding that he still did not know a lot about the world, Xuan Hao could not help feeling that his strength was still too weak. Not to mention the Sky Empire, there was still other more powerful empires, the dangerous core region of the continent and the gods that the different religions prayed to.

After the meeting is over, I will try and find out how to breakthrough to the Soul Ascension Realm!

Narrowing both of his eyes as he thought this, Xuan Hao turned his attention back towards the group of Domain Lords who were all looking towards him nervously.

"Senior... Do you want to help us...?"

Interrupting the silence that had engulfed the small room in the back of the inn, Elder Scarlet Flame nervously spoke out as he look pleadingly towards Xuan Hao. Even if he didn't know Xuan Hao for more than an hour at this point in time, Elder Scarlet Flame still understood how important it was for them to get his help for the upcoming meeting.

With someone like him around, they were certain to get one of the leader positions and also wouldn't have to worry about the retaliation of the more powerful kingdoms.

After all, a Seventh Stage Domain Lord Realm Expert who had reached the later stages of the Domain Lord Realm was different from someone in the Sixth Stage of the Domain Lord Realm who was still in the middle stages of the realm and was not someone anyone other than the top forces of the Sky Empire could deal with.

"Sure, I will help out in meeting if needed... But I will not be using my current identity!"

Hearing the nervous voice of Elder Scarlet Flame and understanding what was passing through his head, Xuan Hao decided to accept the request to help them for the upcoming meeting.

"If you need an identity, you can use my ancestors. According to what the outside world knows he disappeared a little over two thousand years ago when he went looking for an opportunity to break through to the Seventh Stage of the Domain Lord Realm... But in reality, he returned a few hundred years ago and died during secluded cultivation!"

"Hm... Sure, that would be fine... But are you sure about me using your ancestors identity?"

"Haha, yes, I'm sure! With how strong you are, I'm sure my ancestor wouldn't mind it either!"

"Great, then let's go with that when the time comes."

Seeing as all the Domain Lords were happily smiling and started chatting with each other after hearing that he would help them out, Xuan Hao decided to take his leave after finishing his short conversation with one of the Domain Lords who spoke up and gave him an identity to use for the upcoming meeting in case he was needed.

"Haha, this is great! Let's inform the younger ones outside and celebrate! With this, we are sure to get a leader position during the meeting!"

Hearing the loud exclamation behind him as he left the inn, Xuan Hao could not help rolling his eyes.

The main reason he had decided to join them and help them secure a leader position in the sect alliance was to hopefully turn attention away from the border of the Sky Empire where the Star Shattering Sect was developing.

Even if the attention on the Star Shattering Sect from the forces in the core region of the Sky Empire was still close to non-existent at this point in time, Xuan Hao understood that it would only be a matter of time before they started learning about it.

Report chapter Comments