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

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Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough #Chapter 1102 Sect Recruitment! New Disciples! - Read Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough Chapter 1102 Sect Recruitment! New Disciples! Online - All Page - Novel Bin

Chapter 1102 Sect Recruitment! New Disciples!

Returning back to the Star Shattering Sect following the weird encounter with the Domain Lord Realm Expert belonging to an unknown empire, Feng Chen and Elder Song decided to bolster the borders in case more powerful experts began appearing following the appearance of the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert.

No matter how uninterested in the Star Shattering Sect the Domain Lord Realm Expert had looked, they didn't dare to let down their guard in case one of the empires attacking the Sky Empire had set their sights on the Star Shattering Sect. Even if the Star Shattering Sect now had someone in the Soul Ascension Realm and the matter had already begun to spread outside the borders of the Star Shattering Sect over the past few months, it had become obvious from their interaction with the unknown Domain Lord Realm Expert that the people from the invading empires would not easily believe that there was a Soul Ascension Realm Expert in the Star Shattering Sect, a sect located at the border of the Sky Empire.

Not to mention, the invading empires had no lack of Soul Ascension Realm Experts and would be more than strong enough to dispatch a few of these experts to deal with the star Shattering Sect in case they ended up viewing them as a possible threat!

The main problem was the fact that Feng Chen and Elder Song had no idea how strong Xuan Hao was and how he would compare to other Soul Ascension Realm Expert, but… Considering that he should only have broken through to the Soul Ascension Realm recently, he should be far from strong enough to deal with any of those invading empires.

Other than that, there was also the fact that Xuan Hao wasn't at the sect of at the moment. Meaning that they had no way to resist if someone at the Soul Ascension Realm ended up appearing at the moment, something that ended up motivating Feng Chen to continue cultivating and try to reach the Soul Ascension Realm, so the sect didn't have to only rely on Xuan Hao to fend off any possible enemies in the Soul Ascension Realm.

As a result of this, Elder Song ended up becoming the one in charge of the Star Shattering Sect as Feng Chen decided to retreat into seclusion in an attempt to break through to the Third Stage of the Domain Lord Realm.

At the very least he wasn't totally alone in managing the Star Shattering Sect this time around, as he had both the management elders that he had taught and Shu Yao to help ensure things went smoothly without him burning out in the process.

Because of this, Elder Song had more than enough energy to move forward with his plan to host another recruitment event for new disciples. Planning to take advantage of the Star Shattering Sect's recently integrating the different major kingdom to get a new batch of talented disciples to join the sect. …

"So, this is where the Star Shattering Sect is located…"

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Standing in front of the now sprawling city at the base of the Ninth Star Peak, a young boy could not help looking up towards the towering mountains of the Shattered Star Peaks filled with admiration.

"Hey, can you stop blocking the path for the rest of us!?"

"Yeah, some of us still have to sign up in time before the next recruitment period begins!"

Unintentionally, he ended up blocking the path for the large number of similarly young people who had been standing behind him waiting for a chance to enter the bustling city and sign up for the upcoming recruitment of new disciples for the Star Shattering Sect that was going to take place in less than a week.

"Sorry…"

Smiling a bit awkwardly as he heard the increasingly large commotion that had begun growing behind him, the young boy didn't dare stand around for a second longer as he rushed inside the city. Not daring to continue blocking the path inside the relatively small side gate that had been specially allocated to the young people coming to try their luck at joining the main sect of the Star Shattering Sect.

Although the gate was far smaller than one of the main gates used by most people, it was far faster to go through than the main gates. Especially considering the city was constantly expanding, causing more and more people to rush towards the city.

To be honest, it wouldn't be surprising if the main gates of the city ended up being moved to expand the city even more, something that had already happened more than three times over the past year according to what the young boy had heard during his journey to the Shattered Star Peaks.

Not only that, but he had also heard that the Star Shattering Sect had apparently begun to build some kind of large buildings at the base of the Ninth Star Peak where the path leading up the Ninth Star Peak and into the Star Shattering Sect was located. In process of this, several large shops were forcibly moved, even the Explorer Union had apparently been moved away due to this construction project.

I wonder what those large buildings are for… Perhaps places for the disciples of the sect to sell their things, or maybe something related to the recruitment tests…

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Thinking about this to himself as he made his way through the bustling streets, the young boy soon arrived at the large buildings in question. Although, different from his imagination, most of the buildings that should still have been under construction had already been built and looked like they were already in use. "Internal Management Department of Transportation Infrastructure, External Management Department of Export and Import of Spiritual Herbs, Internal Management Department of…"

Glancing over the different signs above the entrance to some of the finished buildings, the young boy could not help feeling his head hurt at the long names displayed. Even if he didn't fully understand what the buildings were for, he was at least certain that they shouldn't have anything to do with the recruitment tests.

"Ah! There it is!"

Spotting what he had been looking for the next moment, the young boy wasted no time as he rushed over to a small building located right next to the path leading up the Ninth Star Peak. Above the entrance to the building, the large words [Recruitment Sign Up] were written in bold letters. Making it easy for anyone passing by to spot them.

If not for that, the large number of young people gathered outside the building would be more than enough to guess that it was the right place for signing up for the recruitment tests.

"Now… To get registered…"

Finding his way through the large number of young people both younger and older than him, the young boy soon managed to reach the small building where he successfully managed to register for the Star Shattering Sect's recruitment test after waiting around in line for another few hours. Getting an identification token for the test and a location outside the city where he was supposed to be when the test started.This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

Although he had no idea why he would be going somewhere just outside the city when he had never seen the slightest sign of there being anything related to the recruitment tests, the young boy didn't question it and just decided to head back without getting involved with the other young people. Knowing that there was a possibility of ending up in an elimination duel against any friends he might end up making there.

In his opinion, it was better for him to wait until the end of the recruitment tests when he had become a disciple of the Star Shattering Sect before creating any friendships.

With his strength having already reached the Later Stages of the Qi Condensation Realm and his young age, he felt more than confident in being able to enter the Star Shattering Sect!

…

Much like the young boy who had come to the Shattered Star Peaks to become a disciple of the Star Shattering Sect, there was no lack of people confident in being able to pass through the assessments and other tests that the elders of the Star Shattering Sect might throw at them.

Unfortunately for them, the sheer number of people who had gathered to try and join the Star Shattering Sect was far above what it had been in the past. The number of outsiders present also ended up causing a rather significant strain on available hotels, inns, and other similar establishments in the city, to the point where Elder Song was forced to dedicate some of the sect's resources towards temporarily building new places for these young people to stay.

In total, the number of young people present in the city for the chance to become a disciple of the Star Shattering Sect ended up exceeding two hundred thousand by the time the day of the assessment came… And by the time the assessment came to an end, only two thousand of them would become disciples of the sect- A number that had already been raised from the original one thousand planned new disciples by Elder Song due to the sheer amount of young people who had shown up…

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Chapter 1103 One Year

"Everything is going well so far, the only problem is the fact that the city is far too small to accommodate such a large influx of people."

Watching the large number of young people walking around the city talking among each other with excited expressions on their faces, Elder Song could not help letting out a sigh of regret as he glanced over towards the overcrowded inns and hotels. Even with him ordering a large protein of the sect's elders and disciples to go out and build up some temporary places for these young people to stay in while waiting for the first tests to begin, there was still a large number of them who had nowhere to stay and were forced to camp outside the city on their own.

All of this was an oversight on his part, as he had at most expected around a hundred thousand to show up. Nowhere near the two hundred thousand currently present in the city. Not to mention that the number of young people entering the city was still increasing, to the extent that it wouldn't be surprising if there ended up being a quarter million young people by the time the tests officially began.

Because of this, Elder Song had even gone as far as recalling some of the more experienced elders currently not in the main sect to ensure that the assessments of the large number of young people went smoothly, while also being ready to take some of the less talented people to populate the different branch sects.

In the end, Elder Song was prepared to recruit a total of 2000 people for the main sect, while another ten thousand would have the opportunity to join one of the branch sects. This way, the Star Shattering Sect should avoid losing too many talented young people, who just happened to not cross the mark and be ranked within the top two thousand.

"Now that I think about it, today marks a year since Xuan Hao left the sect, I wonder when he will return again and how much stronger he will have grown…" Suddenly remembering Xuan Hao as he gazed down at the large number of young people excited at the possibility of joining the Star Shattering Sect, Elder Song could not help saying this out loud.

Although it had already been a year since Xuan Hao left and his disciples had started to get worried about their master, Elder Song didn't feel too worried about anything happening to Xuan Hao. After all, he was already someone in the Soul Ascension Realm and was more than strong enough to keep himself safe.

Instead of that, he was looking forward to what kind of surprise he might bring back with him. Part of him hoped that it would be something that could help improve the strength of the entire sect, like the Codex of the First Four Mortal Realms that he had brought back in the past.

Even though only a simplified version of the codex had been made available to most of the sect's elders, the change it had brought to the Star Shattering Sect had still been astronomical, causing the strength of all the disciples to increase, while also increasing the number and strength of the Nascent Soul Realm Elders in the sect.

"Haaa… Shouldn't hope for too much, he already brought back the Domain Lord Realm version of that codex, so the sect should be fine until Peak Domain Lord Realm Experts start appearing…" Shaking his head as he dispelled his somewhat greedy thoughts, Elder Song returned to observing the flow of young people in the city below while contemplating how to best conduct the upcoming tests and trials.

…

At the same time that Elder Song was busy preparing for the recruitment of new disciples, Xuan Hao opened his eyes inside a small hidden cave inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts as his gaze landed on the body of a dead illusory beast in the process of dispersing on the ground beside him-

Whoosh~

Disappearing the next second. Leaving no traces other than the small motes of light containing the last bit of power that had drifted off the body of the illusory beast before it had disappeared.

"How curious…" Whispering this to himself as he observed the small motes of light from the now gone illusory beasts slowly drifting away before similarly disappearing, Xuan Hao slowly began stretching his body before standing up after over two weeks immersed in the Dao of Illusions.

The past two weeks allowed his Dao of Illusions the chance to take another step forward towards the Large Success Realm, but at the same time also worsening the effects of the Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beasts.

If he wanted to reach the Large Success Realm of the Dao of Illusions, he had a feeling that he would eventually be forced to first take down an illusory beast in the Earth Immortal Realm, something that he didn't think was anywhere near possible with his current strength.

After all, even if the Dao of Illusions provided him with an advantage when it came to fighting against the illusory beasts, it was far from enough to allow him to fight against an illusory beast in the Earth Immortal Realm, let alone kill one! "Hm… I might try and search for more powerful illusory beasts for now and see if they make any difference. If they really don't work, I will have to either find a way to kill an illusory beast in the Earth Immortal Realm or find another way to increase my comprehension of the Dao of Illusions to the Large Success Realm." Muttering this to himself as he turned to look at the few illusory beasts in the Domain Lord Realm that had surrounded him after feeling the presence of the Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beast disappear, Xuan Hao casually waved his hand and used his dao domain to send them flying before they had a chance to attack him.

Roooaaaar-!

As the small group of Domain Lord Realm illusory beasts were knocked flying, it did not take long before a loud roar echoed out from the distance before Xuan Hao felt several Soul Ascension Realm illusory beasts rapidly approaching his location.

"Looks like its time for me to leave before I end up getting swarmed…" Narrowing both his eyes as he remembered how Chu Li had been surrounded in the past after his battle with a Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beast, Xuan Hao didn't waste any time before using his Drifting Cloud Steps to teleport away.

…

Whoosh~

"Huh? Senior! I have been searching all over for you!"

As he appeared out of thin air far away from the place where he had been absorbing the insights of the dead illusory beast after five minutes, Xuan Hao was just about to take another step forward in the direction of place with a powerful Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beast when a certain someone appeared in front of him…

"Chu Li… Is there a problem?" Knowing that it wouldn't be too good to just up and run away the moment he encountered him, Xuan Hao decided to turn around and face Chu Li with a questioning expression on his face.

"Ah… Actually… This junior has a somewhat selfish request and was wondering if senior would be able to share some of his insights into the Dao of Illusions. If senior is willing, this junior will never forget the favor and will make sure to return it in the future!" Hesitating for a short moment when faced with the questioning look, Chu Li ultimately built up enough courage to ask him about the thing he had wanted to ask him since their last conversation. Understanding that he had nothing to really give a senior in the Earth Immortal realm outside of a promise to return the favor in the future.

"…"

Different from the hesitation of Chu Li who was filled with anticipation at the answer from the person he perceived as a senior in the Dao of Illusions, the senior in question was left feeling like he had been caught between a rock and a hard place.

Although he could refuse Chu Li's request with the excuse that he had other things to attend to, he also understood that doing this might result in the other party growing suspicious of him. After all, handing out a few pointers normally didn't take more than a few minutes, so most seniors would be more than happy to spend a few minutes guiding a junior. Especially if the junior was someone talented on the brink of reaching the Earth Immortal Realm…

"Sure, show me what you got, and I will give you a few pointers."

For this reason, Xuan Hao reluctantly agreed with Chu Li's request. Praying to himself that his powerful talent had allowed his comprehension of the Dao of Illusions to surpass Chu Li enough that he could at least give him a few suggestions on where to improve. Even if these suggestions might not help Chu Li a lot with his Dao of Illusions, they would still be helpful and could thus keep up the façade of him being a senior…This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

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Chapter 1104 Teaching a... Senior?

"Thank you, I will make sure to use all my strength!" Flashing a smile filled with joy after hearing Xuan Hao agree to his request, Chu Li wasted no time before starting to gather his power to show off his comprehension and mastery of the Dao of Illusions.

"…"

Feeling the terrifying power that Chu Li was gathering, Xuan Hao narrowed both his eyes as a hint of surprise flashed through them.

Even though Chu Li was still someone in the Soul Ascension Realm, the strength he was displaying far exceeded that of someone in the Soul Ascension Realm and instead gave a feeling similar to the two Earth Immortal Realm cultivators he had seen fighting to the death almost a year ago.

No… It's similar, but there is clearly something lacking compared to those two Earth Immortal Realm cultivators. If I had to say anything to describe it, it feels similar to the difference between someone in the Half Step Domain Lord Realm and the Domain Lord Realm.

Someone in the Half Step Domain Lord Realm might have a pseudo domain and have far exceeded the strength of anyone else in the Nascent Soul Realm without a pseudo domain, but they are ultimately still inferior to someone in the Domain Lord Realm… But if that's the case, what is someone in the Half Step Earth Immortal Realm lacking compared to someone in the Earth Immortal Realm…?

Shaking his head as he thought about this to himself, Xuan Hao focused his full attention on Chu Li. Even if he wanted to know more about the Earth Immortal Realm and was curious about what it was Chu Li was missing compared to the Earth Immortal Realm Experts he had seen, he first had to ensure that his status as a senior remained intact.

Not aware of the thoughts going through Xuan Hao's head as he was looking at him with a stern expression on his face, Chu Li just thought the senior was analyzing his every move to get a better understanding of how far he had progressed and what things he might be able to improve on.

"Senior, I will begin now."

As Chu Li said this, he narrowed both his eyes before he took a step forward and cupped one of his hands, causing a surge of ethereal energy belonging to the Dao of Illusions to spring forth all around him, manifesting into all sorts of mystical creatures, ancient warriors, and other things before gathering in his hand where it merged together into a luminous sphere of light. Rumble~!

Only a short instant after the sphere had gathered together in the palm of Chu Li's hand, did it start to shake uncontrollably as if it would collapse at any moment.

However, before it had a chance to do this, Chu Li decisively thrust his palm forward, sending the sphere hurtling towards a group of Soul Ascension Realm illusory beasts who happened to be passing by-

Roar?

RUUUMBLE-!

Only turning around in time to see the sphere appearing directly in front of them, the illusory beasts had no time to react as the sphere hit, causing reality itself to fracture as the terrifying illusory power contained inside the sphere rippled outward, destroying everything in its path in the process. Including the group of unlucky illusory beasts.

"…"

Observing the terrifying power of the small sphere as the different countless illusory creatures inside of it had merged into some kind of large-scale illusory construct that destroyed everything in its path, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine.

Although the attack was not directed directly at him, he still felt like he would die if faced with the attack head on. Making him certain that the level of the sphere should have already transcended the Soul Ascension realm and reached the earth Immortal Realm!

Not only that, but the dao contained in the attack doesn't just contain the Dao of Illusions, but also contain the Dao of Space. Although… The Dao of Space in the attack just now is extremely rudimentary and doesn't even reach the Elementary Realm…

Trying his best to analyze the attack, Xuan Hao also realized that the attack didn't just contain the Dao of Illusions but also contained the Dao of Space.

The Dao of Illusions was used for the attack itself, while the Dao of Space was used to compress and contain the power for long enough to reach its target. In the end, the reason why the sphere had grown unstable earlier was because Chu Li's comprehension of the Dao of Space was insufficient to compress and contain such a large amount of large amount of illusory power.

If he wanted to improve on the attack in the future, he would have to increase his understanding of the Dao of Space, or the attack might end up blowing up in his face at some point in the future.

Hm? His understanding of the Dao of Illusions is clearly far above my own, but won't I be able to guide him in the Dao of Space with ease?

Suddenly realizing this as he finished analyzing the attack just now, Xuan Hao turned to look at Chu Li who had already sat down on the ground to recover the large amount of qi he had just used. "Senior…? Did you already finish analyzing my attack?!" Feeling Xuan Hao's gaze, Chu Li opened both his eyes as he turned to look up at Xuan Hao filled with shock. Thinking that Xuan Hao's gaze meant that he had already finished analyzing his move just now and was ready to give him guidance on how to improve. NvεlB¡n: A Haven for Bookworms and Dreamers.

"As expected of senior! Really worthy of admiration!" Not even giving Xuan Hao time to answer, Chu Li seemingly went off on his own as he began praising him happily the next second.

This f… Hah… Need to calm down… "S-sure…" Trying his best to not curse at Chu Li, Xuan Hao could only reluctantly nod his head in agreement. Fearing that doing anything else might end up with him having to face the terrifying illusory sphere of light.

In any case, he had already decided to use his understanding of the Dao of Space to improve on the attack instead of trying to use his clearly inferior Dao of Illusions to try and help him. Even if this might not be what Chu Li had originally been hoping for, it wasn't too weird considering that a more profound Dao of Space would indeed improve the power by several times. If taken far enough, it might even be possible to merge the power from the Dao of illusions together with a more powerful Dao of Space to create an even more terrifying attack…

With this in mind, Xuan Hao didn't bother delaying the inevitable as he began pointing out the different mistakes he had spotted when analyzing the attack. Pointing to hundreds of different ways that Chu Li could improve his compression and containment of the illusory power while at the same time throwing in some of his ideas about the possibility of merging the two together into a single attack instead of the dao of space only being used to temporarily store the illusory power.

Of course, knowing that Chu Li might not understand some of the things he said with his rudimentary understanding of the Dao of Space, he also decided to personally show it without using his Dao of Illusions. Ensuring that he didn't end up revealing his far lower comprehension of the Dao of Illusions in the process…

"…And that will be all, I still have something to do, so I will take my leave for now." After over an hour ended up passing with him teaching Chu Li about the Dao of Space, Xuan Hao didn't dare stay around after finishing his lecture-

Swish-!

Wasting no time in using his Drifting Cloud Steps to disappear before Chu Li had the chance to ask him more questions- or even more dangerous, ask him about the Dao of Illusions!

"Senior…!?" Only realizing Xuan Hao was leaving when he had already disappeared into thin air, Chu Li looked around himself filled with surprise for a short moment before calming down again.

"To think senior would leave so fast after he finished teaching me, but… To think senior would not point out my mistakes in the Dao of Illusions but instead my utilization of the Dao of Space. Hah… I did indeed disregard the Dao of Space in my pursuit of the Dao of Illusions.

Even if I just implement a small bit of what senior taught me, I might be able to double- no triple the strength!" Muttering this to himself as both his eyes started shining, Chu Li could not help feeling a new sense of respect towards Xuan Hao.

"Not just my attack, but maybe he was also hinting towards my current stagnant progress in improving my strength. Maybe what I need to do is not just focus on the Dao of Illusions, but instead try and comprehend a new dao to supplement it. If that is the case, the Dao of Space does indeed seem fitting…"

Feeling like he saw a new path appearing in front of him, Chu Li felt all kinds of different feelings surging up inside of him. However, before things went out of control, he quickly calmed himself down and found a place nearby to sit down and go over everything slowly.

After all, the things he had learnt from Xuan Hao would take some time to fully digest before he was prepared to take the next step…

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Chapter 1105 Terrifying Encounter, Confusing Encounter

Whoosh~ This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

"This should be far enough..." Appearing inside a small secluded forest located at the edge of the valley, Xuan Hao looked back in the direction he had come from with a worried expression on his face. Even if he felt that his earlier performance should have convinced Chu Li, he didn't plan to stay around for long enough to find out.

To make sure that he didn't end up running into Chu Li the moment he stepped out of the small, secluded forest and resumed hunting down Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beasts, Xuan Hao decided to spend the next week quietly meditating on the Dao of Illusions on his own without leaving the small forest.

His comprehension speed of the Dao of Illusions might have slowed down due to this, but at least he would be sure that he didn't end up getting caught in a troublesome situation. Not to mention, he also decided to use some of the time to go over the attack Chu Li had used to demonstrate his comprehension of the Dao of Illusions.

Although Chu Li should not have reached the Large Success Realm in the Dao of Illusions, he had gone further than him and should only be a single step away from reaching the Large Success Realm in the Dao of Illusions. If he could grasp anything from his attack back then, it would undoubtedly end up saving him a lot of time in the future.

…

At the same time Xuan Hao hid away in a corner of the Valley of Illusory Beasts, back in the Sea of Mist, the old man who had remained stuck in the same position for a year without moving, opened both his eyes as he stared towards the entrance to the Sea of Mist, he had passed through a year ago.

"It seems like those people still haven't given up and are still lingering around the entrance. If I try to leave, they will undoubtedly notice me the moment I appear…" Muttering this to himself as he used his divine sense to connect to some of the formations he had laid down outside the Sea of Mist, the old man shook his head helplessly as he looked around the empty Sea of Mist.

Even though an entire year had passed, nothing had changed inside the Sea of Mist, and everything remained exactly the same as it had been when he had first entered the Sea of Mist. The only thing different was the fact that the squirrel, who had accidentally wandered into the Sea of Mist, was nowhere to be seen.

However, glancing towards the two wooden gates hidden deeper inside the mist, it was not difficult to guess that the squirrel had managed to reach one of the two wooden gates during the past year. If it hadn't managed to do this, he should have already spotted its remains if it hadn't been able to step into the path of cultivation and become a demon beast.

Thinking about the two wooden gates that should be connected to some other part of the special independent space that he now found himself inside of, the old man could not help feeling a hint of curiosity about what might be lurking on the other side of the two wooden gates. Given his knowledge about these kinds of independent spaces, it might be an ancient spiritual herb garden filled to the brim with ancient spiritual herbs that could help him recover from his current state, or it might be a deadly hell scape filled with all kinds of terrifying demons wanting nothing more than to kill him… And considering his current state, he could not risk going to such a place before he at least managed to recover his strength to the Soul Ascension Realm.

Given the fact that his current strength had just barely managed to recover back up to a level comparable to the Domain Lord Realm, he didn't dare think about entering the two wooden gates any time soon.

"But… I should have recovered enough to move around a bit…" Almost whispering this to himself as he felt a need to move around after spending over a year in the same position, the old man slowly got up after stretching his rigid body. Soon beginning to aimlessly wander around the Sea of Mist to stretch out his legs after such a long time sitting in the lotus position on the ground.

For once in his life, the once powerful Earth Immortal Realm Expert, felt like an ordinary old man out on a normal walk as he wandered around the empty Sea of Mist…

"Huh?"

After a little over two hours passed peacefully like this and the old man was preparing to get back to recovering and sit down for another year, he found himself standing directly in front of one of the two wooden gates. Having unconsciously moved towards the closest of the two wooden gates during his small walk around the Sea of Mist. Well… A single peek never hurt anyone before. Not to mention, I should be able to retreat safely in case something really does end up happening…

Convincing himself that it would be fine to just take a little peak on the other side of the wooden gate in front of him, the old man slowly leaned forward as he stuck his head through the wooden gate. Having already tried and failed to penetrate it with his divine sense earlier.

However, the sight on the other side of the wooden gate was nothing like what he expected to see, as he found himself face to face with a small, cute looking rabbit demon beast-

"Soul Ascension Realm…!?"

Even more shocking was the fact that he discovered that the small, cute looking rabbit demon beast had actually reached the Soul Ascension Realm. Having far exceeded anything he could deal with in his current state.

Squeak?

Noticing the old man at the same time that the old man noticed it, the rabbit demon beast tilted its head in confusion at the aged face that had suddenly popped out from the wooden gate a few meters away from where it was training the squirrel.

Whoosh-!

Reacting fast, the old man took advantage of this confusion to rapidly pull his head back out from the wooden gate. Leaving the rabbit demon beast in an even more confused state as it wondered if what it had just witnessed had been a mirage created by the Ephemeral Forest.

If not for the fact that it didn't dare to leave the Ephemeral Forest in case its master returned and found out it was missing, it would have followed after the weird floating head to investigate whether or not it had just been tricked by a mirage created by the powerful presence of the Dao of Mirages in the Ephemeral Forest.

Squeak…?

Not having seen the weird floating head that appeared in the wooden gate just now, the squirrel let out a confused squeaking sound upon seeing the weird state of the rabbit demon beast. Feeling curious about what had caused its strict and almost sadistic teacher to give it a rare break during a highly intensive physical training session-

Squeak!

However, this did not last for long, as the rabbit demon beast sprung back into action the moment it heard the curious squeaking from the squirrel. Giving it no time to rest as it increased the intensity of the training even further.

Although this terrifying training was beneficial to it, the squirrel could not help letting out a painful sound as it began regretting the fact that it didn't just remain quiet and use the precious time when the rabbit demon beast was distracted to get some rest…

"How terrifying!"

At the same time that the rabbit demon beast returned to training the squirrel, the old man who had appeared as a floating head to the rabbit demon beast was looking towards the wooden gate filled with fear.

"Even a small and cute rabbit that would at most be in the Qi Condensation Realm managed to reach the Soul Ascension Realm. If I'm not wrong, I should have been rather lucky to not have ended up face to face with an Earth Immortal Realm demon beast earlier.

Indeed, it's far too dangerous for me to explore the other side of the wooden gates in my current state. Even recovering my strength back to the Soul Ascension Realm is far from enough to explore those places…" Muttering this to himself as he let his imagination run wild about what other things might be hidden on the other side of the wooden gate, the old man made his way back to the spot he had been spending all his time over the past year.

"For now, I should focus on recovering my strength before doing anything else…" Closing his eyes as he said this to himself, the old man didn't bother continue his walk around the Sea of Mist and instead sat back down on the ground before continuing to cultivate like nothing had happened.

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Chapter 1106 Late Stage of the Small Success Realm

Unaware of the fact that someone else other than Chu Li and himself had managed to find his way into the special space where the Sea of Mist, Ephemeral Forest and the Valley of Illusory Beasts was located, Xuan Hao continued staying inside the small, secluded forest without moving around for another few days.

Only after a little over a week had passed since his encounter with Chu Li, did he start to make his way out of the small forest in search of more Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beats to kill. Making sure to properly scan his surroundings with his divine sense before using his Drifting Cloud Steps. Ensuring that he didn't accidentally end up appearing directly in front of Chu Li again.

Although he had been successful in convincing him this time around, there was no saying if he would be able to continue keeping up the act when he began asking more detailed questions about the Dao of Illusions or the Earth Immortal Realm.

After all, when everything was said and done, he didn't really have any clue about the Earth Immortal Realm outside of the fact that it was the realm that came after the Soul Ascension Realm. If Chu Li began asking him for help in breaking through to the Earth Immortal Realm and how to best face the last tribulation of the Immortal Soul Tribulation, his act would almost certainly be exposed the moment he displayed his lack of information regarding the Earth Immortal Realm and experience when it came to the Immortal Soul Tribulation.

"Well… I do have information on the Immortal Soul Tribulation from the elder of the Mirage Sect, so I should be able to offer some advice on how to best face the last tribulation of the Immortal Soul Tribulation." Muttering this to himself as he remembered the information that the elder from the Mirage Sect had transferred to him about the Immortal Soul Tribulation before his passing, Xuan Hao could not help cheering up a bit.

Even if he ended up encountering Chu Li again, he should at least be able to use this knowledge to avoid the topic of the Earth Immortal Realm and his far weaker Dao of Illusions. Although, this might also backlash and result in Chu Li asking more questions…

Haaa… No matter what, it's best to just avoid running into him again… The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

Shaking his head as he thought about this, Xuan Hao became extra cautious when moving around the Valley of Illusory Beasts to hunt down illusory best to improve his Dao of Illusions. Making sure that Chu Li was nowhere close to the Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beast he was targeting before taking action to kill it.

As a result, the speed at which he was progressing over the next few months did end up taking a hit.

But…

Even though his speed slowed down, the help provided by Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beasts still ended up losing their effect… And three months after his encounter with Chu Li, illusory beasts in the Soul Ascension Realm no longer provided any help when it came to improving his Dao of Illusions.

If he wanted to continue his rapid progress in the Dao of Illusions, he would either have to kill an Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast or get the guidance of a senior in the Dao of Illusions who had already broken through to the Large Success Realm, neither of which were realistic considering that he was far too weak to contend against an Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast and the only senior in the Dao of Illusions he had encountered had only reached the Peak of the Small Success Realm.

The worst part was that he had not even managed to reach the Peak of the Small Success Realm and had only managed to reach the Late Stage of the Small Success Realm, still quite a distance from being able to think about breaking through to the Large Success Realm any time soon.

Maybe killing a single Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast wouldn't even be enough to break through and he would need to kill two of them, something that was even less realistic than killing a single one through some kind of incredibly fortunate opportunity.

As for breaking through to the Large Success Realm on his own… Xuan Hao had a feeling that it would at least take five years with his current sensitivity towards the Dao of Illusions and that was only if he stayed inside the Ephemeral Forest to cultivate. If he didn't have the ability to stay inside the Ephemeral Forest, he might be able to break through the Large Success Realm with the Dao of Space faster than the Dao of Illusions, something that would at least take 10 years to accomplish. Far too late for him to break through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm before the Earth Immortal Realm Expert from the Heavenly Dragon Temple appeared to cause trouble back in the Star Shattering Sect…

Maybe I can try to take advantage of the emergence of the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts to try and find one weak enough to try my luck at. Even if I'm not strong enough to kill it, I might be able to increase my understanding of the Dao of Illusions by fighting one…

Feeling himself growing a bit desperate as he realized that he might not break through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm before the Earth Immortal Realm Expert from the Heavenly Dragon Temple appeared, Xuan Hao could not help thinking about some more dangerous ways to increase his comprehension of the Dao of Illusions.

Although his current strength might be far from strong enough to fight against someone in the Earth Immortal Realm, his comprehension of the Dao of Space and profound movement technique should be able to allow him to escape from someone in the Earth Immortal Realm.

Even if the soul attacks of an Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast were far more powerful than a Peak Soul Ascension Realm one, Xuan Hao felt confident in the strength of his soul being able to resist for a short period of time.

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Chapter 1107 Chu Li On the Path Towards Comprehending the Dao of Space, Xuan Hao's identity?

Having decided to stay inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts and try to see if he could continue improving his comprehension of the Dao of Illusions by observing the illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm using the Dao of Illusions while fighting, Xuan Hao decided to wait for them to leave the deeper parts of the valley where they should be staying at the moment.

The main reason for this being that he wouldn't be able to use the Dao of Space nor his movement technique if he went to the place inside the valley where the earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts should be located. After all, the spatial structure of the place made it impossible to do so without him at least reaching the Large Success Realm in the Dao of Space- at which point he would already have fulfilled the requirement for breaking through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm and wouldn't need to find an Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast to fight…

Following this, Xuan Hao began to comprehend the Dao of Illusions on his own as he waited for the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts to emerge according to what Chu Li had told him back when he had encountered him for the first time.

Although he had no idea how long he would have to wait before they emerged, he could at least deduce from what Chu Li had told him that the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts seemed to emerge once every two or so years. Meaning that he should at most be waiting around for a year considering he had already spent over a year inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts without encountering the emergence of the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts.

…

At the same time that Xuan Hao began to focus on comprehending the Dao of Illusions on his own while waiting for the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts to emerge, Chu Li opened both his eyes with an overjoyed expression on his face.

Even though his strength had not improved since Xuan Hao had left, Chu Li had taken everything he had told him to heart and had begun trying to comprehend the Dao of Space instead of focusing only on the Dao of Illusions. Soon realizing that the path given by Xuan Hao was indeed viable- no, it wasn't just viable, it was superior to his current path of only focusing on comprehending the Dao of Illusions!

If he managed to successfully merge his Dao of Illusions together with the Dao of Space, Chu Li had a feeling that he would be able to easily pass through the final tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm with little difficulty and smoothly reach the Earth Immortal Realm. Not only that, but he should also be stronger than normal Earth Immortal Realm Experts after breaking through after combining his Dao of Illusions with the Dao of Space!

"I really have to thank senior if I meet him again!" Feeling an endless sense of gratitude towards Xuan Hao for the guidance he had provided, Chu Li vowed to repay him in the future after he broke through to the Earth Immortal Realm and became strong enough to help someone like that.

Although… If I want to improve my understanding of the Dao of Space like senior told me to, I have to either find a stable spatial anomaly or try to enter one of the Blue Sea Empire's training grounds… Haaa… No matter which of the two it is, it won't be ea- Ah! That's right! Can't I make use of the spatial anomaly senior created back when he killed the Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beast I was chasing after!?

Lost in his own thoughts as he thought about how to best improve his understanding of the Dao of space, Chu Li suddenly remembered the spatial anomaly that had been created by Xuan Hao when he used the true spatial collapse ability to instantly kill the Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beast during their first meeting.

Back then, he had been too taken aback and awestruck by the display of power and mysterious presence around the senior, that he didn't pay any attention to the small void left behind by the attack. Only now that he needed a spatial anomaly that would make comprehending the Dao of Space easier did he remember the small void that had been left behind by Xuan Hao back then.

Wait… Did he perhaps already predict that this was going to happen and intentionally leave behind the spatial anomaly for me to comprehend!? Suddenly realizing that the attack from Xuan Hao back then had been far too powerful to use on a Soul Ascension Realm illusory beast when he should have been able to just kill it without the need for such a terrifying and over the top attack, Chu Li could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine.

Indeed, the senior was far more terrifying than he could have imagined. Maybe he was not in the Earth Immortal Realm and was instead one of those terrifying existences above the Earth Immortal Realm.

Considering the fact that the Valley of Illusory Beasts was filled with Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts in the deeper parts and there should be some kind of big secret hidden at the deepest part of the valley according to what he knew about the place, it wouldn't be too weird for an expert above the Earth Immortal Realm to appear and investigate the matter personally.

The only thing he found weird was the fact that he had never heard of or seen anything of Xuan Hao in the information he had available to him as part of the Blue Sea Empire's armed forces, while also directly serving under one of the four generals.

In the end, he could only conclude that this was because Xuan Hao shouldn't be from any of the major powers on the Ewaria Continent and should instead be a wandering cultivator who journeyed across the continent while cultivating and improving his own strength in the process…NvεlB¡n: A Haven for Bookworms and Dreamers.

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Chapter 1108 Emergence of Earth Immortal Realm Illusory Beasts...

Following Chu Li finding his way back to the spatial anomaly that had been created by Xuan Hao during their first meeting, he wasted no time before setting up a simple formation to hide away from any of the weaker illusory beasts wandering around the area. After which he began comprehending the Dao of Space, a different dao from the one he had been focused on his entire life. Going against the common knowledge on cultivation that dictated that one should only focus on a single dao when cultivating, lest one ends up wasting to much time on other Daos and ends up unable to progress as a result. Showing just how much trust he put into the advice that Xuan Hao had given him.

Of course, Xuan Hao had no idea that it was common knowledge across the continent for one to only practice a single dao. After all, his sect had never had someone in the Domain Lord Realm before him, nor had any of the information he obtained through the system ever mentioned anything about comprehending a single dao at a time.

Even the little information about the Domain Lord Realm that he gained from Shu Yao or others were quickly overturned as he got his hands on the explanation of the Domain Lord Realm equal to the Codex of the First Four Mortal Realm.

In the end, this information had also caused Shu Yao and the rest of the Domain Lord Realm Experts in the Star Shattering Sect to unconsciously change the way the viewed the Domain Lord Realm and how to progress in it, to the point where Shu Yao had even begun trying to comprehend a new dao to try and strengthen her flower domain…

Not aware of any of this, Chu Li just thought Xuan Hao's suggestion for him to cultivate the Dao of Space was because his vision far exceed that of any of the Earth Immortal Realm Experts who had taught him so far and had managed to deduce what would be best for him.

Unknowingly, Xuan Hao's strength had already exceeded that of the Earth Immortal Realm Experts he had encountered during his time working in one of the four main armies of the Blue Sea Empire.

Whoosh~

With this in mind, chu Li fully dedicated himself towards trying to comprehend the Dao of Space to merge it together with his Dao of illusions according to the advice Xuan Hao had given him.

…

As both Xuan Hao and Chu Li stopped hunting the Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beasts, it did not take long before peace returned to the Valley of Illusory Beasts in their absence, some of the weaker Sixth Stage Soul Ascension Realm illusory beasts even jumping at the opportunity to take over the territory of the now dead Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beasts.

ROOOOAR-!

However, this peaceful scene did not last for long as a loud roar filled with killing intent echoed out from the depths of the valley. Scaring the weaker illusory beasts into hiding. Only leaving behind the stronger illusory beast in the Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm or above, who were all bowing their heads fearfully in the direction of the deeper part of the valley where the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts were supposed to reside…

Rustle~

At the same time that the roar echoed out and the weaker illusory beasts began hiding away while the stronger ones began prostrating in the direction that the roar had come from, Chu Li opened both his eyes in surprise before realizing what was happening.

"It's time already?" Muttering this to himself as he looked down towards the spatial anomaly with a reluctant expression on his face, Chu Li understood that he couldn't afford to waste any time-

Swish-!

And without even bothering to pack away the formation, he jumped into the air and rushed towards the location of the wooden gates. The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

No matter how confident he was in his own strength, he understood that he wouldn't stand a chance fighting against an illusory beast in the Earth Immortal Realm. Even if his comprehension of the Dao of Illusions strengthened his soul and made it stronger than a normal Soul Ascension Realm Expert, it would at most allow him to last for a few seconds longer.

"Hm? Is that senior?" About to reach the wooden gates that served as the passageway out of the Valley of Illusory Beasts, Chu Li could not help coming to a stop as he spotted Xuan Hao emerging from a small forest close to the wooden gates.

"Senior!" Feeling overjoyed upon spotting the senior who had helped point him in the right direction, Chu Li didn't continue escaping towards the wooden gates and instead headed over to meet up with Xuan Hao.

After all, in his mind, Xuan Hao was already someone who had surpassed the Earth Immortal Realm and would have no problems dealing with a few illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm…

"Chu Li? Are you about to leave?" Seeing Chu Li rushing over towards him, Xuan Hao didn't leave and instead calmly faced the excited Chu Li. Having already expected this outcome when he decided to reveal himself.

If he really planned to avoid him, he would have left before Chu Li even had the chance to notice him. Unfortunately, he was forced to reveal himself as he understood that Chu Li was going to leave the Valley of Illusory Beasts with the emergence of the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts and might end up running into the rabbit demon beasts and its newly recruited subordinate in the process.

"Yes, the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts are about to show up and I'm nowhere near strong enough to deal with them, so I plan to hide away in the Ephemeral Forest for the next few months until things calm down again." Nodding his head upon hearing Xuan Hao's question without any hesitation, Chu Li didn't notice the slight frown appearing on Xuan Hao's face after hearing what he said.

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Chapter 1109 Illusory Dragon and...

"I see… A few demon beasts of mine are currently cultivating in the Ephemeral Forest at the moment. If it isn't too difficult, could I ask you to watch over them while you are there?"

Hearing that Chu Li was indeed planning to go to the Ephemeral Forest, Xuan Hao decided to ask him to watch over the rabbit demon beast and the squirrel during his time there. Not so much to watch over them, but more so for him to not kill them the moment he noticed the two demon beasts. After all, there wasn't really anything dangerous in the Ephemeral Forest that they needed protection from…

"Huh? Senior's demon beasts? Ah! Of course!"

Not knowing what was going through Xuan Hao's head at the moment, Chu Li just happily agreed to the request of watching over the demon beasts before the two parted ways after Xuan Hao gave a brief description of the rabbit demon beast and the squirrel.

During the entire process, Chu Li didn't question why a powerful senior who had surpassed the Earth Immortal Realm had decided to bring two demon beasts below the Earth Immortal Realm with him to such a dangerous place, but in the end, he just guessed that it was because the senior was a wandering cultivator and happened to pick up a few demon beasts that he wanted to train and the Ephemeral Forest proved the best place to do this.

Although… He had no idea why the senior had decided to choose a squirrel and a rabbit demon beast instead of a larger demon beast that could serve as a mount. Maybe the senior just had some other purpose for them?

…

Following Chu Li leaving the Valley of Illusory Beasts, Xuan Hao continued waiting above the small forest he had hidden inside of for the past month. Waiting for the first Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast to appear inside the range of his divine sense. Not daring to move too far away from the wooden gates in case the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts turned out to be too strong to even fight against for a short time with his current strength. This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

Although there would be the risk of Chu Li poking his head out through the wooden gate connected to the Ephemeral Forest, it was a risk he was willing to take considering that the alternative might result in him dying…

Rooooaaaar-!

Not even five minutes after Chu Li had left, a roar far more powerful than any of the illusory beasts he had faced so far echoed out from the depths of the valley before a terrifying presence appeared at the edge of his divine sense.

"Earth Immortal Realm…" Muttering this to himself as he felt a hint of nervousness at the thought of having to face off against someone in the Earth Immortal Realm, Xuan Hao prepared himself mentally to run away in case he had overestimated his own strength and wasn't able to fight an illusory beast in the Earth Immortal Realm.

WHOOSH-!

As Xuan Hao finished preparing himself, a terrifying wind swept through the uneven terrain of the valley and directly wiped out the small forest below him in the process before a large illusory dragon appeared at the edge of his vision-

Whoosh-!

And before he even had time to react, the illusory dragon had effortlessly cut through the air and appeared in front of him filled with killing intent as a large pair of claws headed directly for him-

BANG!

Only blocking the claws in time because his dao domain had already spread out to surround him. If not, the claws might have been able to reach him before he could even use the Drifting Cloud Steps to run away. Making Xuan Hao painfully aware of how slow his reaction time was in the face of someone in the Earth Immortal Realm.

Although the fights he had seen so far of Earth Immortal Realm cultivators didn't seem so much different in terms of speed compared to a fight between Soul Ascension Realm Experts, it had now become obvious that it was just that he couldn't fully see what was happening in a fight between Earth Immortal Realm Experts, something he might have discovered if he had more time to watch Earth Immortal Realm Experts fighting or just had a chance to observe the fight from a closer distance without dying…

Roar?

Not expecting Xuan Hao to block its attack, the illusory dragon retracted its claws. Unsure of how someone below the Earth Immortal Realm had managed block its attack.

Giving Xuan Hao some much needed time to recover from the impact of the attack while also assessing how to fight against the illusory dragon in front of him.

Given just how fast the illusory dragon was, it was no longer doable for him to try and rely on his Drifting Cloud Steps to avoid its attack, as even though he could teleport to avoid it, he might not be able to use the Drifting Cloud Steps in time to avoid the attacks.

Do I really have to run away?

Feeling a sense of reluctance as he realized that he was still far too weak to face off against an illusory beast in the Earth Immortal Realm, Xuan Hao could not help wondering if it was best to just escape from the Valley of Illusory Beasts while he still had time.

Even if it was disappointing that he would not be able to have his Dao of Illusions reach the Large Success Realm, he would at least be able to stay alive and think of another way to have one of his Daos reach the Large Success Realm before the Earth Immortal Realm Expert from the Heavenly Dragon Tem-

RUMBLE-!

About to turn around and escape from the Valley of Illusory Beasts after concluding that he was still too weak to fight against an Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast, a loud rumbling echoed out from the depths of the valley before the entire valley began violently shaking.

"Huh!? The wooden gates are… Disappearing!?"

However, the main thing Xuan Hao had his attention focused on was the fact that the wooden gates in the distance became illusory and looked like they were about to disappear at any moment…

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Chapter 1110 Trapped!

"H-how am I supposed to leave without the wooden gates!? Didn't Chu Li say that the only change would be Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts emerging from the depths of the valley- Unless… Things are different inside the valley compared to when he was looking at it through the wooden gate. Maybe he didn't see the situation inside the valley, but instead just saw an illusion when looking through the wooden gate…?"

Feeling a profound sense of fear washing over him as he saw the state of the two wooden gates, Xuan Hao felt that his decision to remain inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts without first ensuring that he would be able to leave, had been a mistake.This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

Not only would he be forced to stay inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts while Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts wandered around the place, but he would also be forced to find a way to deal with the illusory dragon currently in the process of trying to figure out how someone who should only have been in the Soul Ascension Realm had been able to defend against its attack.

Roar-!

Although, it looked like he had run out of time, as the illusory dragon decided to continue its attack after not being able to figure out how he had been able to defend against its claws-

Bang-bang-bang!

Soon enough, the sound of the illusory dragon's claws clashing with Xuan Hao's dao domain could be heard across the periphery of the valley. The battle itself causing the ground beneath to shake with the impact, as any illusory beast still around ran away in fear.

Crack~

However, even though Xuan Hao's dao domain had the ability to resist the claw attack of the illusory dragon for a short time, it soon started to show cracks under the pressure. Even worse… The illusory dragon should be extremely skilled in the Dao of Illusions, but so far, it had only ever used its claws to attack him…

I don't know whether to feel happy or offended at the fact that the illusory dragon doesn't treat me as an equal opponent...

Thinking about this to himself as the cracks covering the outer edges of his dao domain began expanding in size with each claw strike from the illusory dragon, Xuan Hao shook his head before using the Drifting Cloud Steps to escape. Understanding very well that he would only end up dying if he continued to stay and fight the illusory dragon.

Not to mention, given that the illusory dragon didn't use any of its abilities related to the Dao of Illusions, he didn't really gain a lot from fighting it.

In the end, the only way he managed to improve his Dao of Illusions during the fight was by observing the illusory dragon itself. Although helpful, it was far from enough for him to willing risk his life.

Whoosh~

Roar?

Feeling its claws sweeping through the air without hitting anything, the illusory dragon was once again left in a confused state as it looked around itself wondering where Xuan Hao had disappeared to-

Roar-!

Unfortunately for Xuan Hao, the distance covered by the Drifting Cloud Steps was not enough to leave the range of the illusory beast's sense, as it soon came rushing directly towards him the moment he reappeared.

"Looks like its going to hard to shake this one off…" Staring at the illusory dragon that was almost directly on top of him the moment he reappeared, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit helpless as he took another step forward and disappeared again-

Roar!?

Frustrating the illusory dragon in the process, as it looked around itself for a short instant before spotting Xuan Hao appearing again-

Whoosh-!

Rushing straight towards him without wasting a single second- Only to barely miss him in the end…

As this chase continued for the next five minutes with both of them keeping the same distance between each other, the illusory dragon began growing increasingly frustrated with being unable to catch Xuan Hao, whom it perceived to be someone far weaker than itself.

In a sense, it looked to Xuan Hao like the illusory beast's pride had been hurt…

ROOOOOOAR-!

Unable to take this constant chase back and forth any longer, the illusory beast let out a roar filled with both killing intent and anger, as all sorts of illusions began manifesting around the illusory dragon before flying towards Xuan Hao at a speed far exceeding that of the illusory dragon-

"Huh!?"

As a result, Xuan Hao didn't even have time to use the Drifting Cloud Steps before the illusions created by the illusory dragon engulfed him. Soon forming a deadly attack that ignored his physical body and headed straight for his soul.

Swish-!

However, the moment the illusory attack entered his dantian where his soul was located, it was cut apart by his nascent sword soul without him even having the time to react.

"So… The nascent sword soul is useful for defending against soul-based attacks…" Muttering this to himself as he witnessed how the nascent sword soul easily destroyed the illusory soul attack, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit surprised.

After all, he had never really used his nascent sword soul and didn't have a full grasp of its abilities outside of the fact that it could be used to strengthen his soul and be used for directly attacking the soul of an opponent.

Hm? If the nascent sword soul is useful for dealing with the soul attacks of the illusory dragon, is it perhaps also effective in dealing against soul-based opponent like illusory beasts…?

Suddenly feeling like he had realized something important; Xuan Hao dragged his nascent sword soul out of his dantian before turning around to face the approaching illusory dragon. Planning to test out his idea instead of immediately using the Drifting Cloud Steps to run away.

Roar!

Seeing Xuan Hao not running away, the illusory dragon just thought its attack had been successful in wounding him and didn't think too much about it as its claws once again descended towards Xuan Hao...

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Chapter 1111 Side Effects of Using the Nascent Sword Soul

Seeing the large claws once again descending towards him, Xuan Hao grabbed the hilt of his nascent sword soul and slashed up towards the incoming claws-

Swish-!

And without any suspense or terrifying clash, the nascent sword soul smoothly cut through the claws of the illusory dragon before continuing forward with a seemingly unstoppable momentum. Almost like the claws had never even existed in the first place.

Roar!?

Caught off guard by the terrifying nascent sword soul that had just cut through its claws with seemingly no effort, the illusory dragon acted in instinct as it felt a threat to its life-

Swoosh-!

Dodging the nascent sword soul before rapidly retreating far away from Xuan Hao where it began to examine him in far more detail compared to the first time when it had discovered that he had been cable of defending against its claw attacks.

After all, when everything was said and done, there was a stark difference between being able to survive an attack that takes zero effort to preform on the side of an Earh Immortal Realm Expert and someone having the ability to threaten the life of someone in the Earth Immortal Realm.

The first could be considered a genius in the Soul Ascension Realm who would eventually reach the Earth Immortal Realm in the future, while the other was someone who already had the ability to kill someone in the Earth Immortal Realm…

As the illusory dragon once again entered a state of deep thought as it focused all its energy towards trying to figure out how someone who should only be in the Soul Ascension Realm had managed to accomplish something like that, the person in question didn't want to stay around for a second longer as he directly used the Drifting Cloud Steps to run away again.

The only difference this time around was that the illusory dragon didn't chase after him. Having seemingly concluded that it would be too dangerous to continue chasing him. Above all, it wasn't the only Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast around, while at the same time being nowhere near the strongest.

Even if it let Xuan Hao escape, it understood that he wouldn't be escaping for too long before he ran into another Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast… And considering that he didn't really have anything of value to it in him, it didn't want to possibly risk its life fighting with him for no reason.

Indeed, compared to the ordinary illusory beasts between the Domain Lord Realm and the Soul Ascension Realm, the illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm had finally gained some semblance of sentience- Although, the level of sentience was still limited.

…

"Haaa… Looks like … Haaa… It's not chasing after me…" Collapsing in a small forest clearing after escaping for three hours straight, Xuan Hao only muttered this to himself before beginning to recover the energy that had been sapped from his soul after utilizing the nascent sword soul in battle against the illusory dragon.

Although it didn't look like it consumed a lot of energy due to him just taking the nascent sword soul out from his dantian before swinging it towards the claws of the illusory dragon, the main consumption of energy stemmed from the fact that the nascent sword soul was directly linked to his soul… And from the experience just now, he realized that it would forcibly drain the strength of his soul when used.

Even though this might not have too much of an effect if he was facing someone in the Soul Ascension Realm, the same could not be said when his nascent sword soul had to face off against an illusory beast in the Earth Immortal Realm. The power required was more than enough to render him exhausted to the point of fainting, something that would almost certainly spell the end for him with the illusory dragon around.

In the future, it would be best to limit the usage of the nascent sword soul to fighting people around his own strength or those below him. Not only because using it at a stronger opponent would potentially cause him to faint, but also because the drain on his soul might end up permanently scaring his soul.

The only reason why he had been able to escape unscratched from the clash with the illusory dragon was because his nascent sword soul only hit and cut through the claws!The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

If he had ended up accidentally cutting into the body of the illusory dragon, he might have all the power inside his soul sucked up by the nascent sword soul before he could even cut halfway through it…

If he had ended up using the nascent sword soul on a more powerful opponent in the future without knowing about the drawbacks, it was easy to imagine the surprise on his opponent's face when he ended up just falling dead on the ground after using it.

How terrifying… Nascent sword soul… A double-edged sword in the truest sense of the word. If I'm not careful, I might end up killing myself when using it…

Feeling a shiver run down his spine as he thought about this while recovering, Xuan Hao could not help feeling grateful that he had managed to escape without any permanent damage to his soul…

As a day came and went like this, Xuan Hao slowly opened his eyes after recovering from the battle with the illusory dragon at the Earth Immortal Realm before turning to look in the direction of the two wooden gates that had turned illusory during his battle with the illusory dragon.

Although he had no idea what had happened to them, he had clearly sensed that his divine sense couldn't approach them, being blocked by some kind of strange power that made it impossible to get any closer to them.

It was also because of this strange power that he hadn't decided to try and escape through the illusory wooden gates. Having instinctively understood that the power wouldn't just stop his divine sense but would also prevent him from approaching the wooden gates.

Maybe I can examine them in more detail now that I don't have to worry about the illusory dragon, it should have left by now…

Thinking this to himself, Xuan Hao wasted no time in jumping into the air and flying towards the location of the wooden gates. Intending to examine the illusory gates up close to hopefully find out if he could still leave the Valley of Illusory Beasts.

Even if he couldn't leave, he at the very least wanted to figure out if there was some kind of limit until the wooden gates returned to normal or if his current situation wasn't something that had happened before and that he would be trapped inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts for an unknown period of time.

If that really ended up happening, he would need to find a way to break through the illusory wooden gates, something that would undoubtedly require a power far beyond what he had at the moment. Maybe another option existed, which was increasing his comprehension of the Dao of Space and mastering the long distance teleportation technique.

If he mastered the long distance teleportation technique, he wouldn't have to worry about getting stuck so easily in the future, as he would be able to easily leave any trap or space that didn't have a proper spatial seal on top of it.

"But… Mastering the long distance teleportation technique to such a realm will undoubtedly take far longer that reaching the Large Succes in the Dao of Space or the Dao of Illusions for that matter… And that is not mentioning the fact that the Star Shattering Sect won't be able to survive for such a long time without me.

Even if the Earth Immortal Realm Expert from the Heavenly Dragon Temple doesn't show up for some reason, the current chaotic situation in Frozen Wastelands might end up resulting in a demon just as powerful emerging in the Sky Empire…" Muttering this to himself as he flew towards the illusory wooden gates, Xuan Hao could not help smiling wryly as he realized just how bad things might get for the Star Shattering Sect without him present.

Even if the current Star Shattering Sect could be considered powerful in the Sky Empire, that was only considering that he was still around. Not to mention when compared to the powers above the Sky Empire, like the Blue Sea Empire.

In the grand scheme of things, the Star Shattering Sect was still weak and had no real power on the Ewaria Continent… And there were still other continents outside of the Ewaria Continent, some of which might be far more powerful than the Ewaria Continent.

No use thinking about all of this, the Star Shattering Sect still has time to grow, with time, it will become a top power on Ewaria and with my help, even beyond the borders of the Ewaria Continent...

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Chapter 1112 Illusion and the Pitiful Rabbit Demon Beast

Arriving at the illusory wooden gates after travelling through the valley for a little over a day, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a sense of relief washing over him. Even though he didn't end up encountering any Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts during his journey back to the illusory wooden gates, he never let down his guard and was always watching out for any of them appearing inside the area covered by his divine sense.

Avoiding them was not an option, as his encounter with the illusory dragon had clearly shown him that it could sense his presence before he had sensed it. In the end, this meant that area covered by an Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast exceeded his own divine sense or in more simple terms, it meant that he would always be found first and could only react to them attacking him when they entered the range of his divine sense.

The only thing he could do to try and reduce the risk of being attacked was lower the strength of his presence from what normally felt like someone in the Soul Ascension Realm to the illusory beasts to that of an ordinary Domain Lord Realm Expert. Any lower than this would just end up drawing more attention due to the fact that even the weakest illusory beast had reached the Domain Lord Realm, something weaker than that would not be able to stay alive inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts.

Well… Even if I was spotted by an Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast, it might have just ignored me because of my weak strength-

Thump~

"Ah?!"

Lost in his own thoughts as he was approaching the illusory wooden gates, Xuan Hao suddenly found himself colliding headfirst with a seemingly unmovable invisible wall. Even if it didn't injurie him, the surprise of suddenly crashing into a wall while flying was not a good experience and reminded him of the time he had been trapped in the formation back at the Main Star Peak.

"This is… the barrier that stopped my divine sense?" Almost instantly realizing that the thing in front of him should be the barrier that had stopped his divine sense before he could examine the illusory wooden gates, Xuan Hao could not help himself from poking it out of curiosity as he began trying to examine it in more detail through the combination of his dao domain and divine sense.

Bang!

Unfortunately, even with this and being up close, he couldn't examine the invisible barrier with his divine sense or dao domain. Instead, it just crashed into the invisible barrier before being forcibly dispersed by the invisible barrier.

"This-!?"

Although it might not be so surprising for the barrier to disperse his divine sense upon contact, it was different for his dao domain. After all, for it to have the ability to do this, meant the power of the barrier itself likely exceeded the strength of the illusory dragon he had encountered a day earlier.

Then again. If the barrier wasn't strong enough, the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts who had managed to gain some semblance of intelligence and weren't just mindless beasts might have already left the valley of Illusory Beasts.

But even if that was the case, why didn't they try to escape by weaking the barrier over time. After all, no matter how strong it was, it would be worn down over time if constantly attacked by a large number of Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast… Unless… Something was forcing the illusory beasts to return to the deeper parts of the valley. Not giving them the needed time to try and break out of the valley.

Of course, these were only some thoughts he got after seeing the wooden gates being blocked off with the emergence of the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts. Reality might be different. Especially considering that he hadn't seen a single Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast anywhere near the wooden gates, outside of the illusory dragon and the illusory dragon didn't stay around after he had run away.

"What in the… It's not a barrier…?" Continuing to examine the invisible barrier blocking his path to the two illusory wooden gates, Xuan Hao soon discovered that when his dao domain hit the invisible barrier, it didn't disperse like he had first thought. Instead, he realized after careful observation that there was some kind of powerful illusion in place that made it seem like the dao domain dispersed.

The reason why he didn't pick up on the illusion the first time around was not because he didn't see it, but because the illusion had spread through his dao domain and ended up affecting him as a result. Making him think that his dao domain had really dispersed, thus causing him to retract his dao domain in fear that it would also affect the rest of his dao domain.

However, even with this, it wouldn't be enough for him to have fallen for the illusion. The real reason why it had fooled him was because he indeed couldn't sense what was on the other side of the invisible barrier that now turned out to be the border of some kind of illusion.

Not to mention, the illusion had indeed blocked his path forward- Or did it?

"Don't tell me I wasn't blocked by the illusion but just affected by it without noticing…" Muttering this to himself as he looked at the two illusory wooden gates no more than a few hundred meters away from where he was, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine.

If not for the fact that the illusions in place around the two wooden gates weren't intended to kill and merely had the effect of blocking anyone from leaving, he would have been killed without even knowing how…

Looking at it in a positive light. The creator of the illusion should have already reached the Large Success Realm in the Dao of Illusions and possibly even beyond that. If I study such a complex illusion, I won't have to worry about my progress in the Dao of Illusions slowing down. Maybe it will be a chance for me to reach the Large Success Realm!

Narrowing his eyes as he thought about this, Xuan Hao felt excited at the prospect of reaching the Large Success Realm in the Dao of Illusions. Outside of the fact that he had to worry about encountering another illusory beast in the Earth Immortal Realm and the fact that he might be trapped inside the valley of Illusory Beasts, things didn't seem that bad.

If he really was trapped, he could use the time to break through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm and try to find a way out after that. At least he wouldn't have to worry about the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts after breaking through the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm.

Whoosh~

Having come to a decision on what to do, Xuan Hao found a spot on the grass covered ground not too far away from the two wooden doors before starting to comprehend the Dao of Illusions through observation of the illusion blocking his path out of the Valley of Illusory Beasts.

Swish~!

Using his dao domain to cause a movement in the illusion every now and then so he could personally experience it while also observing how it worked from afar.

… This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

At the same time Xuan Hao immersed himself in comprehending the Dao of Illusions in front of the two illusory wooden gates, at the other side of one of the wooden gates, a fierce confrontation was taking place between the rabbit demon beast and Chu Li…

"Hey little fellow, how are you doing, your master asked me to look after you two, so why don't you come over here and play with me as well? Don't worry, I will make sure to include your little friend as well, we can all have fun together while waiting for things to become safe back in the Valley of Illusory Beasts. No need to feel shy, I used to take care of the cute little demon beasts of the noble ladies from the capital back when I was younger!"

SQUEAK!

Well… It might have been a fierce confrontation in the eyes of the rabbit demon beast, but in the eyes of Chu Li, the little rabbit demon beast was just feeling shy after having met a stranger. Nothing out of the ordinary and he knew just how to deal with it-

Whoosh!

Squeak!?

Dashing forward and picking up the small rabbit demon beast before it had any time to react with his superior speed before starting to gently pat its fluffy head with a smile on his face.

"It's fine, there, there little one."

Squ…

"Hm? Do you want to say something little one?"

SQUEEAAAAAAK!

Not knowing how to deal with this kind of humiliation that was being administered to its royal body, the rabbit demon beast could only let out a pitiful scream of agony as it prayed for its master to return as fast as possible...

waaah

Chapter 1113 Two Years, Dao of Illusions, Large Success Realm

Back in the Star Shattering Sect time passed without care for night or day, while their master was busy trying to comprehend the Large Success Realm of the Dao of Illusions and break through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, Mui and Bai Ning were relaxing in front of the small palace on a large outdoor couch as they watched Chu Yang and Qing Yi sparing with each other in the training ground attached to the side of the palace. On the side Zhi Ruo was preparing a pot of tea on a small table with a look of concentration plastered all over her face, not missing a beat as she carefully mixed different herbs into a unique self-created blend.

Rustle~

Lazily rolling around on the couch, Mui came to a stop just before rolling over the edge of the couch as her attention remained focused on her two seniors fighting each other.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Just the energy from their clashes was more than enough to make a shiver run down her spine as she felt a hint of longing. If not for the fact that she was in no state to do so at the moment, she would have wanted to join them and have her two seniors teach.

Unfortunately, compared to the two of them, she and Bai Ning had no energy to spare for training at the moment. Not so much because they were lazy or anything like that, but because they had just come back from the Sea of a Thousand Furnaces after spending the past two days forging without a single ounce of rest. Although it might have been fine in normal circumstances, both of them wanted to try and surpass their past creations and had thus ended up using up all of their qi in the forging process.

Because of this, no matter how much Mui wanted to join her two seniors, she had no energy to do so and could only roll around on the couch with a reluctant expression on her face as she observed the two sparing with each other.

"I wonder when master will return, I really want to show him how much stronger I have become and the powerful artifact I just finished creating…" Pulling out a large blob of metal that seemed to be the fusion created by the slag of hundreds of different metals, Mui let out sigh as she voiced her thoughts.

"No need to worry, it's already been two years since master left and he should be returning soon, who knows, he might already be on his way back as we speak." Encouraging Mui who seemed to have entered a somewhat depressed state after thinking about their master who had already been gone for over two years, Bai Ning smiled gently while saying this.

Even if he had no idea how accurate this would be, he felt that their master should be returning to the sect soon. Not so much because he had been informed by the Elder Song or anyone else about this, but because the situation in the Sky Empire was about to reach a critical state as the Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the different empires and the Soul Ascension Realm Experts hiding away in the capital city had started clashing with each other seriously.

Given the current state of things, it was only a matter of time before Soul Ascension Realm Experts belonging to these different powers ended up appearing inside the territory of the Star Shattering Sect to cause chaos, something that they had been able to avoid so far due to their location being at the border between the Sky Empire and the Frozen Wastelands.

Not only that, but Yi Min had also fended off a large number of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts who would normally have come to the Star Shattering Sect's territory from the core region of the Sky Empire. After all, her kingdom was essentially placed directly at the border between the core region of the Sky Empire and the border region of the Sky Empire.

Although, with the passing of time, most of the kingdoms located between the Star Shattering Sect and the Iron Sky Kingdom had already been integrated into the Star Shattering Sect due to the arrival of the independent sects.

"Really!?" Not aware of the thoughts going through her senior brother's head as he answered her, Mui just looked up at him with an exited yet questioning look on her face. Not fully believing the words of her senior brother. After all, it had already been years since their master left and this senior brother in front of her had said similar things in the past when she had asked about when their master would return.

"Yes, I'm sure it won't be more than a few months before master returns given the current situation in the sect. If you want to have him return earlier, you could try and go to the sect master and ask him to contact master through one of those long-distance communication talismans." Nodding his head as he said this with a confident smile, Bai Ning also decided to throw in some of the information about Feng Chen having a way to directly contact their master along the way.

"Yay!" Showing an overjoyed expression on her face as she heard the first part, Mui soon began pouting as she heard the second part of what he said. "Uncle Feng has a way to contact master!? Why didn't he tell me about this when I visited him together with Song Jia in the past!?"

Swish-!

Having seemingly found a new source of energy after hearing that Feng Chen had a way to contact their master, Mui jumped up from the couch before rushing out of the courtyard in front of the palace before heading in the direction of where Feng Chen's palace was located.

"How energetic… Hehe, this is what you get for lowering the resources allocated to the Blacksmithing Hall. Even if it's to facilitate the rapid expansion of the sect, you didn't need to take from the Blacksmithing Hall and could just have taken it from those beast tamers instead…!" Muttering this to himself as both his eyes narrowed while looking at his junior sister's disappearing figure, Bai Ning felt a sense of satisfaction after knowing about the headache she was going to cause before he leaned back down in the couch and began dozing off. NvεlB¡n: A Haven for Bookworms and Dreamers.

Bang! Bang! Boom!

Unaware of the trouble that their junior sister was about to cause, Chu Yang and Qing Yi continued fighting with each other as they fought each other using the moves they had managed to comprehend not too long ago, both of them seeking to learn what they might be able to improve through this spar.

Although they weren't excited to the same level as Mui when it came to showing off how much they had improved over the past two years, they were still looking forward to it and wanted to ensure that their master wouldn't think they slacked off in his absence.

At the same time, they were also curious about what their master had been up to over the past two years and wanted to find out about it as soon as possible. After all, for something to take their master such a long time to accomplish, it had to be something amazing.

Maybe their master had even managed to successfully increase his strength even further during this period of time!

No matter what it was, both of them were looking forward to finding out what had happened to their master. None of them felt worried that something bad might have happened to him, as they were fully confident in their master's strength.

…

Back in the Valley of Illusory Beasts, Xuan Hao quietly looked at the illusion blocking his only path out of the Valley of Illusory Beasts with a frown on his face.

"It should already have been a year, yet the illusion shows no sign of lifting after such a long period of time…" Muttering this to himself as he looked at the illusion that had now become far clearer to him, Xuan Hao could not help letting out a sigh to himself.

After a year of sitting in front of the illusion comprehending the Dao of Illusions, he had not only managed to break through to Large Success Realm in the Dao of Illusions and finish the last needed preparations for breaking through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm by merging all of his Daos smoothly together with his dao domain, but he had also come to realize just how terrifying the creator of the illusion was.

Even after he had reached the Large Success Realm in the Dao of Illusions, he stood no chance of doing anything to the illusion in front of him. At most he would be capable of resisting it for a short time and approach the illusory wooden gates by another 10 or so meters before being forced to retreat. Far from enough to reach the wooden gates and leave the Valley of Illusory Beasts.

In the end, the only choice he had left now was to try and break through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm inside the Valley of illusory Beasts, something that he wanted to avoid if possible due to the fact that an Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast interfering with him during his breakthrough might end up permanently damaging his foundation, or worse, kill him!

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Chapter 1114 Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm

Having finished all the necessary preparations for breaking through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit nervous at the thought that he might get interrupted by an Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast during his breakthrough.

Although he wouldn't have to go through any kind of tribulation as he was still in the Dao Domain Lord Realm and had yet to begin the process of breaking through to the Earth Immortal Realm, the breakthrough would still cause a disturbance large enough to attract any nearby Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts… And that was not mentioning the fact that there might already be some Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts lurking nearby, just outside the range of his divine sense.

Shaking his head as he threw these worries to the back of his mind for now, Xuan Hao decided to check on his status one last time to make sure that everything was in order.

Name: Xuan Hao

Dao Domain: Dao of Ice (Small Success), Dao of the Sword (Small Success), Dao of Corruption (Small Success), Dao of Fire (Small Success), Dao of Space (Small Success), Dao of Illusions (Large Success Realm) Sword Intent: Nascent Sword Soul Realm

Talent: ???? Bloodline: Three Immortals Bloodline (Half-Awakened) Physique: ??? (79% Awakened)

Realm: Intermediate Stage Dao Domain Lord (Comparable to Peak Sixth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm) Professions: Alchemist (Artisan), Formation Master (Expert), Blacksmithing (Expert) Sect: Star Shattering Sect Status: Grand Elder of the Star Shattering Sect Disciples: Qing Yi, Chu Yang, Bai Ning, Mui Pet: Lazy Winged Lion (Peak Ninth Stage Domain Lord Realm), Rabbit Demon Beast (Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm) Looking through his status, other than the fact that his physique getting closer to awakening and the fact that everything seemed to be ready for his breakthrough to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, it also looked like the rabbit demon beast had managed to break through to the Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm over the past year.

Whether this was due to the environment in the Ephemeral Forest being suitable for its cultivation or if it was due to the help of Chu Li, it was a good thing that the strength of the rabbit demon beast had managed to increase over this past year. At least he could be certain that Chu Li was taking good care of his rabbit demon beast and the squirrel.

If I have the chance, I should find an opportunity to repay him for looking after the two after I get out of the Valley of Illusory Beasts. After all, he ended up looking after them far longer than the few months he might have been expecting to look after them. Not only that, but the rabbit demon beast also managed to break through to the Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm.

Feeling thankful that Chu Li seemed to have been looking out for his rabbit demon beast so much over the past year, Xuan Hao decided to repay him after he got out of the Valley of Illusory Beasts. At least given that his Dao of Illusions had managed to break through to the Large Success Realm, it wouldn't be that hard for him to guide him in the future.

Not only that, but he also planned to breakthrough to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm now. Meaning that his strength would have reached a level comparable to the Earth Immortal Realm by the time he met him again. At which point he would indeed be a senior and didn't need to try and fool him.

Whoosh~ This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

As he finished his train of thought regarding what to do after leaving the Valley of Illusory Beasts, Xuan Hao closed both of his eyes as he focused his full attention on breaking through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm.

Even if he wanted to find a place to hide away inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts, there wasn't really anywhere for him to hide given the disturbance caused by his breakthrough would inevitably spread out no matter where he hid.

In the end, he had concluded that it was better to just stay beside the terrifying illusion that engulfed the two illusory wooden gates. Maybe the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts would ignore the disturbance. Thinking it was just something related to the illusion, causing them to hesitate for some time before they decided to come over and investigate in person.

Even if they hesitated for only a few seconds, it might be the deciding factor for him to finish his breakthrough and escape to somewhere safe where he could hide and stabilize his cultivation base.

As Xuan Hao's aura continued to grow in strength over the next few hours, it suddenly came to a stop as it reached the pinnacle of the Intermediate Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm.

Crackle~ Crackle~

The air began to violently crackle with energy as Xuan Hao was at the precipice of breaking through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm. The light from the sun hanging in the sky above the valley illuminating the terrifying qi gathering towards him from all directions.

Rumble~!

Soon enough an energy storm spanning a little over a thousand meters in all directions had formed with him at the center. Inside the storm, Xuan Hao remained in a state of deep meditation as the massive amount of qi began surging into his body. Pushing his strength beyond the Dao Domain Lord Realm and officially beginning the process of breaking through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm.

At the same time, inside his body, the massive amount of qi surged towards his dantian in an unstoppable manner. Not giving Xuan Hao the chance to focus on anything other than his breakthrough, as doing so might cause him to lose control over the massive amount of qi flowing into his body, something that could end up with him blowing up as a result. Although he might survive if he abandoned his body in time and fled with his soul, he didn't really want to try something like that if he could avoid it…

Whoosh-!

As the qi began to fill up his dantian, it did not take long before it had no more space inside of it… And with this in mind, the only path the qi could take was to forcibly expand the size of his dantian, while at the same time being compressed at an unimaginable speed.

RUMBLE-!

In the process of this, everything inside of his dantian was forcibly destroyed by the qi as it was reduced to its pure energy state and merged together with the sea of qi. The only thing floating around inside of his dantian that managed to avoid this fate was his soul located at the core of the dantian and the nascent sword soul that had hidden away inside his soul.

Other than that, his dao domain was also going through a change as Xuan Hao clearly felt its size and strength growing far beyond what it had been before. Boom!

At the same time, a fundamental change also seemed to take place with his soul, as a thin layer formed by the different Daos that he had comprehended so far formed around it in the shape of a closed lotus flower.

Because the Dao of Illusions was the only Dao that he had managed to reach the Large Success Realm in, the closed lotus flower shell around his soul seemed to be in an illusory state, while the powerful Dao of Space caused it to flicker in and out of existence.

The effect from the rest of the Daos he had comprehended was more subtle, as the Dao of Ice and fire caused the temperature around the closed lotus flower to fluctuate between freezing cold and burning hot, while the Dao of Corruption and the Dao of the Sword changed the appearance of the closed lotus to some degree.

To facilitate the creation of the closed lotus flower, all the qi that had gathered inside his dantian was sucked up by it, causing his body to absorb the qi more actively and in return causing the energy storm outside his body to grow in size as more qi rushed inside his body.

As the closed lotus flower finished absorbing all the energy it could, a radiant glow enveloped Xuan Hao's figure, while a transcendent power far beyond that of the Soul Ascension Realm emanated from his body.

BOOOOOM-!

In the pivotal moment after the closed lotus flower had been fully constructed around his soul, Xuan Hao felt the barrier between the Intermediate Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm and the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm shatter like glass. After a long time stuck in the Intermediate Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, he had finally managed to break through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm!

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Chapter 1115 A Waste of Resources

Swish-!

Having finished his breakthrough to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, Xuan Hao didn't waste a second before using all of his strength to jump off the ground and use the Drifting Cloud Steps to teleport away from the two illusory wooden gates.

Roar!

Almost the instant that he disappeared, a large illusory beast in the shape of massive bear appeared above where he had been before it violently smashed into the ground. Creating a crater a few thousand meters in size where it landed. The only thing that survived being the area covered by the terrifying illusion.

Even if the illusory beast had reached the Earth Immortal Realm, it didn't even cause a single ripple to appear on the surface of the illusion-

Whoosh-!

On the other hand, it seemed like the violent attack of the illusory beast had caused some kind of defensive response from the illusion as it suddenly expanded in size and swallowed up the illusory beast before it could retreat, causing the massive illusory beast to disappear without any sign of resistance.

In the short time it had taken for the illusory beast to land on the ground in front of the terrifying illusion where Xuan Hao had been cultivating to it being swallowed by the illusion, less than a single second had elapsed… And in that short period of time, a powerful Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast had essentially been dealt with by the illusions without any way to resist.

So… This is why the illusory beasts don't dare to try and break the illusion…

Having watched all of this from afar as the bear shaped illusory beast was still inside the range of his divine sense when it had been swallowed up by the illusion, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine as he remembered how he had tried to enter the illusion in the past to test if he could reach the two illusory wooden gates guarded by the terrifying illusion.

Only after seeing the fate of the bear shaped illusory beast did, he understand why the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts didn't dare trying to breakthrough the illusion forcefully and leave the Valley of Illusory Beast.

Even though they had reached the Earth Immortal Realm, they had no way to resist in the face of the terrifying illusion…

"Maybe I should try and find another way to leave the valley…" Muttering this to himself as he remained in the air looking back towards the place where the bear illusory beast had been just a few seconds earlier, Xuan Hao shook his head before turning around to leave for a safe place where he could stabilize his cultivation base without having to worry about being randomly attack by Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts.

At the very least, after he broke through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, the area covered by his divine sense expanded as the strength of his soul increased and should exceed the size of the different Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts roaming around the valley.

For now, checking his progress and just how much his strength increased after he broke through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm would have to wait until he finished stabilizing his cultivation base.

…

At the same time Xuan Hao successfully managed to break through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, Chu Li was looking towards the wooden gate connected to the Valley of Illusory Beasts with both curiosity and fear in his eyes.

"The presence of Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts is still present whenever I poke my head inside. Not only that, but the terrifying aura just now should have been the result of an Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast fighting someone not too far away from the wooden gate…" Muttering this to himself, Chi Lu could not help wondering if the senior had something to do with the terrifying aura of battle that he felt when he poked his head through the gate just now.

Although he had never seen the illusory beasts fighting with each other before and felt that it should be related to the senior, he could never to too certain when it came to the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts. After all, compared to the other illusory beasts, the ones in the Earth Immortal Realm were far smarter. Meaning that they might also be hostile to other illusory beasts. "But… If it's not related to the senior, it might have something to do with why things inside the valley haven't calmed down after an entire year." Narrowing both his eyes as he continued to observe the wooden gate in front of him, Chu Li felt a increasing curiosity about what had happened inside the Valley of Illusory beasts during the past year.

No matter what had ended up happening, it had caused the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts to continue staying in the outer part of the valley instead of returning back to the deeper part of the valley after a short period of time like they had done in the past.

Squeak…

Interrupting his train of thought at this moment, the rabbit demon beast appeared not too far away from the Chu Li as it stared towards the wooden gate connected to the Valley of Illusory Beasts with a sense of longing.

"Hm? What is it little fellow? Are you perhaps missing your master?"

Seeing the rabbit demon beast, Chu Li guessed what might be on its mind as he said this before reaching down to pick it up-

SQUEAK!

However, before Chu Li had a chance to grab hold of it, the rabbit demon beast managed to turn around and escape into the Ephemeral Forest behind them. Making full use of its increased speed after reaching the Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm to dodge the fast hands of Chu Li.

"Huh, quite a shy one. Oh well, I should also get back to training, I feel like I'm about to reach a breakthrough in my comprehension of the Dao of Space." Shaking his head with a small smile on his lips as he said this, Chu Li turned around and made his way back into the Ephemeral Forest where both the squirrel and rabbit demon beast spent most of their time training.

Not much different from them, he had also used the past year training or to be more accurate, comprehending the Dao of Space.

The reason for this was simple, as he personally began to see the benefits that the Dao of Space had on his strength and comprehension of the Dao of Illusions.

Just by comprehending the Dao of Space, he opened several new pathways to understand the Dao of Illusions. Giving him a brand-new way to comprehend the Dao of Illusions that he had never thought possible before. The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

In the end, this had resulted in his admiration and respect for Xuan Hao growing exponentially over the past year, to the degree where he now saw him as a figure on par with the old ancestors of the Blue Sea Empire. Existences he had never seen before and had only heard about in legends as people far surpassing the Earth Immortal Realm.

Because of this, Chu Li also made sure to spend any spare time he had on helping Xuan Hao's demon beasts, as it was the only way he could repay Xuan Hao for his guidance.

As a result of this, the rabbit demon beast never ran out of spirit stones during the past half year, while its cultivation also managed to break through to the Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm with the help of some special spiritual herbs suitable for nurturing demon beasts from Chu Li.

In the end, the reason why the rabbit demon beast tolerated Chu Li's clingy behavior from time to time was because of these precious spiritual herbs…

On the other hand, the squirrel that had only been in the Foundation Establishment Realm when Xuan Hao left experienced the biggest change over the past year. Going from the Foundation Establishment Realm all the way to the Nascent Soul Realm.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible to improve so quickly, but the countless precious spiritual herbs provided by Chu Li and the favorable environment had allowed the squirrel to improve at a speed that surpassed even the most talented of human geniuses.

In a sense, it was understandable when considering that most of the precious spiritual herbs eaten by the squirrel were at the Transcendent Grade with one of them even having reached the Immortal Grade, the grade of spiritual herbs above the Transcendent Grade and normally something reserved for those in the Earth Immortal Realm.

All of this was what allowed the squirrel to reach the Nascent Soul Realm in a short year. Thinking about it for more than a few seconds, it was truly a waste to use so many precious spiritual herbs to help a single demon beast reach the Nascent Soul Realm, but… Chu Li couldn't think of any other way to repay Xuan Hao other help take care of his demon beasts…

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Chapter 1116 Dao Lotus?

Using the next half month to stabilize his cultivation base at the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, Xuan Hao ended up discovering that there were far more Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts roaming around the outer region close the wooden gates than he had first expected.

Just over the past half month, he had managed to spot more than a dozen different Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts passing by inside the range of his divine sense. The number alone was more than enough to make him fearful of what might be hidden inside the deeper parts of the valley that had managed to restrain so many illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm.

The more time passed, the more he came to understand just how scary the Valley of Illusory Beasts was. At the same time, he also began to understand why a power with experts above the Earth Immortal Realm had decided to give up on trying to take control of it.

The reason why they didn't keep the place and just sent in the younger geniuses of the Blue Sea Empire while the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts were restrained in the deeper parts of the valley, was likely because they already had some kind of idea about the path potentially being blocked without showing any signs of opening after a long time, like what he was experiencing at the moment.

Even if the chance of the young geniuses not making it out in time was small, there was always a chance, a risk that the experts from the Blue Sea Empire had deemed in time was small, there was always a chance, a risk that the experts from the Blue Sea Empire had deemed necessary considering the fact that the Blue Sea Empire should control a lot of precious location similar to the Valley of Illusory Beasts that would be far safer than the Valley of Illusory Beasts.

After all, there was also the possibility of the thing restricting the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts failing before any signs appeared, something that would result in the unfortunate death of the geniuses who found themselves inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts. The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

But… If that is the case, why did someone like Chu Li not know about this? Considering the fact that he is part of the Blue Sea Empire and someone close to reaching the Earth Immortal Realm, he should have been informed about something important like that…

Thinking this to himself as he observed a group of three Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts in the shape of different large bird demon beasts, Xuan Hao could not help frowning to himself.

The more he thought about the weird state of the Valley of Illusory Beasts and how it had been abandoned by the Blue Sea Empire, the more he felt confused over the appearance of Chu Li inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts.

All things considered, someone like Chu Li should have never entered the Valley of Illusory Beasts under normal circumstance, let alone without first learning about all the dangers involved in entering the Valley of Illusory Beasts-

"Unless… Someone deliberately leaked the information about the place to him without including all the information about the place and its dangers…" Narrowing both his eyes as a frown made its way to his face, Xuan Hao suddenly realized that the situation inside the Blue Sea Empire was also troublesome in its own way.

Different from the united and powerful empire he had imagined when first entering the Blue Sea Empire and ran into the border guard and other people from the Blue Sea Empire, it looked like the situation inside the Blue Sea Empire was far more complicated.

Not only that, but from the fact that the imperial family of the Blue Sea Empire had complete control over the empire and there weren't any other powers like a powerful religion, sect or noble family influencing it, the fighting and different factions should be within the imperial family itself. But…

No matter how much he tried to think about it, he would ultimately not be able to make a lot of accurate guesses considering how little he had interacted with the Blue Sea Empire so far. Only ever really having seen a single city and a single branch of their government in said city. "Haaa… How troublesome… If we have to interact with the Blue Sea Empire when sect starts to border their territory in the future, I have to make sure Elder Song knows about this and avoids accidentally aligning with one of these factions…" Shaking his head as he muttered this to himself while making sure to remind himself to inform Elder Song about this at some point after returning to the sect, Xuan Hao decided to not think too much about the current political situation of the Blue Sea Empire.

Well, I should check the situation inside my dantian now that my cultivation stabilized…

Whoosh~

Deciding to focus his attention on his cultivation and how the situation inside his dantian had changed since he broke through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, Xuan Hao soon saw the situation inside his dantian.

Floating in the middle of his dantian, the closed lotus flower that had now become part of his soul was gently nurturing his soul inside. Even without doing anything, Xuan Hao could clearly feel his strength increasing.

Not only that, but he discovered that the lotus flower was divided into 6 distinct layers, each representing one of the six Daos he had comprehended, with the most prominent being the Dao of Illusions closely followed by the Dao of Space.

The reason he had not realized this back when he had broken through was simply due to the fact that the layers of the lotus flower had still been in the process of developing and had been all mixed together. Only after stabilizing his cultivation base did everything settle into place.

Outside of the closed lotus flower floating at the center of his dantian, the qi inside his dantian had also undergone a significant change, as it was forcefully condensed into a far more powerful state than before.

Even if the overall quantity of qi present didn't change much, the strength had increased several times over.

However, out of everything that happened following his breakthrough, the most surprising one was the effect all of this had on his nascent sword soul. Allowing its strength to rapidly improve alongside his soul, while at the same time unexpectedly deepening his understanding of the Dao of the Sword in the process.

Although it didn't directly allow him to break through to the Large Success Realm in the Dao of the sword, it brought him infinitely close to the realm. With all of these changes, Xuan Hao couldn't help pulling up his status to see just what had changed and if he could get any clue on how he would compare against someone in the Earth Immortal Realm.

Name: Xuan Hao

Dao Domain: Dao of Ice (Small Success), Dao of the Sword (Small Success), Dao of Corruption (Small Success), Dao of Fire (Small Success), Dao of Space (Small Success), Dao of Illusions (Large Success Realm) Dao Lotus: 6 layers

Sword Intent: Peak Nascent Sword Soul Realm

Talent: ???? Bloodline: Three Immortals Bloodline (Half-Awakened) Physique: ??? (99% Awakened)

Realm: Late Stage Dao Domain Lord (Comparable to the Earth Immortal Realm, Third Layer Lotus) Professions: Alchemist (Artisan), Formation Master (Expert), Blacksmithing (Expert) Sect: Star Shattering Sect Status: Grand Elder of the Star Shattering Sect Disciples: Qing Yi, Chu Yang, Bai Ning, Mui Pet: Lazy Winged Lion (Peak Ninth Stage Domain Lord Realm), Rabbit Demon Beast (Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm)

Dao Lotus? 6 Layers? Third Layer Lotus?

Looking through his status, outside of his Nascent Sword Soul Realm changing to the Peak Nascent Sword Soul Realm and the clear improvement in his physique that had allowed it to reach a staggering ninety-nine percent. Only a single step away from fully awakening, Xuan Hao was much more focused on the new information that had appeared in his status.

Dao Lotus and layers of a lotus… From what little information he had available, it was clear that these things were related to the Earth Immortal Realm, the only problem was that he had no idea about any of it.

For now, the most important thing he managed to pick up on from his status was the fact that he was indeed comparable to someone in the Earth Immortal Realm, someone with a third layer lotus… Whatever that meant…

"Oh well… At least I should have the strength comparable to someone in the Earth Immortal Realm now, as for the details, I should be able to ask Chu Li about it after finding a way to leave this place…" Shaking his head as he said this, Xuan Hao turned his attention away from his rather impressive status and focused his attention on the important matter at hand that had yet to be properly addressed- Finding a way out of the Valley of Illusory Beasts…

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Chapter 1117 Strange Pillar

Deciding to start searching for another way out of the Valley of Illusory Beasts that didn't involve the two illusory wooden gates, Xuan Hao ended up finding him moving deeper and deeper in the valley with each passing day without finding anything that might point him towards an alternative path out of the Valley of Illusory Beasts.

Instead, the only thing he managed to find so far was the large number of Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts roaming around the place. If not for the fact that there were simply far too many of them around and even a slight mistake would expose him to at least three or more Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts, he would have long since tried to find an Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast to test out his new strength.

Whoosh~

Crossing over the seemingly invisible barrier separating the area where the illusory beast in the Earth Immortal Realm normally roamed and the place where the Peak Soul Ascension Realm and weaker illusory beasts could be found after close to a week of searching for the way out, Xuan Hao was happily surprised to discover than the power of his Dao of Space had only been blocked for a short time before becoming available again.

Different from his expectations of it being impossible for him to utilize the Dao of Space in the deeper parts of the valley due to the progressively harder to manipulate space the deeper one went; it turned out that he was wrong. Instead of it becoming increasingly harder to manipulate the Dao of Space, there was instead some kind of barrier separating the two parts of the valley.

The barrier in question was not really a barrier in the sense of one created by a formation but was instead a large swath of land stretching across the Valley of Illusory beasts. Separating the weaker and stronger illusory beasts from each other. Although he thought it might have been artificially created by some powerful expert in the Dao of Space at first, he quickly ended up throwing this thought away after personally examining the strange state of the space around and inside the swath of land.

The land covered was simply far too large, while the power that stabilized the space and made it impossible to manipulate seemed to be related to the strange space that the Valley of Illusory Beasts, Ephemeral Forest, and Sea of Mist was located inside of.

If something like that had been made by an expert in the Dao of Space, the existence would be far beyond anything he had encountered so far, likely even surpassing the old experts of the Blue Sea Empire standing above the Earth Immortal Realm.

"Huh? What is that…"

Searching around the place where the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts should have been confined, it did not take long before Xuan Hao discovered something that made him pause with a look of surprise plastered all over his face.

"A pillar…?" Muttering this to himself as he stared up at what could only be described as a large pillar, Xuan Hao was rendered speechless as he had no idea what such an object would be doing inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts. This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

The only thing he could think of was that it should somehow be related to the illusion that was now blocking his path out of the Valley of Illusory Beasts or the thing that was responsible for restraining the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts.

But… No matter what its use is, it's clear that it used up all of the energy stored inside of it and is in the process of absorbing the qi around itself to recover…

Spotting the small crystal-like object floating above the pillar absorbing qi from the air around the pillar at a speed that almost caused an energy storm similar to when he had broken through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, Xuan Hao did not take long to realize the current state of the pillar.

Whoosh~!

Deciding to investigate more closely with his divine sense, Xuan Hao soon discovered that there were countless ancient formation symbols floating around inside the crystal-like object floating above the pillar.

The formation symbols all absorbed the abundant qi that entered the crystal-like object before they began growing brighter and bright when-

Whish~

One of the ancient formation symbols seemed to have been filled with qi as it seeped out of the crystal-like object and fell down onto the pillar below before merging together with it. In the process of this, the crystal-like object also seemed to shrink ever-so slightly.

The pillar didn't show any clear change that was observable to him, but Xuan Hao still felt like something had changed after the ancient formation symbol merged together with it, it was just that he couldn't tell just what this was.

"Hm… If the pillar is related to the restriction of the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts, does it perhaps mean that when it has finished recharging, the path leading back out of the Valley of Illusory Beasts will be opened?" Muttering this to himself as he focused his attention on the crystal-like object floating above the pillar, Xuan Hao could not help silently frowning to himself.

If his guess was correct and the pillar was indeed connected to the restriction of the illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm, he might have to wait until the pillar finished recharging before he could leave the Valley of Illusory Beasts.

Although it might not sound too bad at first, he guessed that for the pillar to fully recover, it had to absorb all of the ancient formation symbols floating in the crystal-like object above it… And from his quick observation of the speed at which the ancient formation symbols were charged up and released back into the pillar, this process would at least take thirty years at the current speed.

Even if the qi absorption speed was far above anything Xuan Hao had seen before his breakthrough to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, it was also obvious that restraining so many illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm was not an easy thing to accomplish. After all, restraining and killing were two completely different concepts.

But… For what reason would someone go through the trouble of constructing something like this just for the sole purpose of restraining the illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm? Is there perhaps some other use for the illusory beasts that I don't know about?

Gazing up at the pillar with an increasingly curious expression on his face, Xuan Hao wondered if the illusory beasts had some other magical effect other than increasing one's comprehension of the Dao of Illusions after they managed to reach the Earth Immortal Realm.

Wait, no, it's not time for this! I have to find another way to leave this place. If I really stay in here for the next thirty years waiting to see if the path out will open, the Star Shattering Sect and my disciples might have already perished.

Feeling like his train of thought was starting to drift away from his main objective of finding a way to leave the Valley of Illusory Beasts, Xuan Hao got into the air before continuing his search across the valley for anything that might be able to help accomplish his goal. Leaving behind the strange pillar to continue absorbing qi on its own.

…

As days passed and turned into weeks, Xuan Hao continued searching through the valley with no success.

Outside of the large pillar he had encountered back when he had first crossed into the deeper part of the valley where the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts normally resided, Xuan Hao did not encounter anything. Not even a single Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast ran through the area covered by his divine sense. Making him believe that all of them should have already left the place to go to the outer part of the valley.

This realization made Xuan Hao wonder just what these Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts were up to. After all, they weren't as dumb as the illusory beasts who normally wandered the outer part of the valley.

Given they had at least some level of intelligence, they should be trying to find a way to leave the Valley of Illusory Beasts while the pillar was not there to restrain them and given that the two wooden gates had been blocked off-

"They should be trying to find some other way to leave the valley…" Finishing his own train of thought as he was flying through a large empty field, Xuan Hao could not help could not help freezing on the spot-

Why didn't I think about that before!

Swish-!

And without wasting a single second, he turned around and headed straight towards the outer part of the valley where the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts should be searching for an escape path in.

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Chapter 1118 Following the Illusory Beasts~

Roar-!

Arriving back at the outer part of the Valley of illusory Beasts again, it did not take more than a few minutes before he ran into an illusory beast in the Earth Immortal Realm. Completely different from the empty landscape without a single sign of life that he had encountered in the deeper part of the valley where these powerful illusory beasts had been restrained a year earlier.

Whoosh-!

Not wasting any time after spotting the illusory beast in the Earth Immortal Realm, Xuan Hao rushed forward before starting to follow after it. Hoping to find out just what the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts were up to and if they really did have a plan for leaving the valley. NvεlB¡n: A Haven for Bookworms and Dreamers.

However, as the illusory beast got closer to the place where the terrifying illusion guarding the two illusory gates was located, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit confused. After all, as far as he knew, there wasn't any large gathering of Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts near the two wooden gates when he had left the place a few weeks earlier.

If there really had been some illusory beasts working on something nearby, he would have sensed it after breaking through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm and had the strength of his divine sense increase far beyond that of the illusory beasts.

Unless its somewhere in the same direction as the two wooden gates, but not exactly at the location of the two wooden gates…

Lost in his own thoughts as he wondered just where the illusory beast in front of him was heading, Xuan Hao soon noticed that several other illusory beasts had appeared at the edges of his divine sense heading in the same direction as the illusory beast in front of him. Rooar

Roar

Roooar

As the three illusory beasts noticed each other, they began communicating in their own language before closing the distance between each other to form a small group of three as they continued flying in the same direction. Confirming his earlier suspicion that the illusory beasts were indeed working together.

Not only that, but he also realized that the illusory beasts were smart enough to communicate with each other, a level of intelligence that he hadn't expected after his encounter with the illusory dragon. Maybe it was just that the illusory dragon wasn't the smartest among the illusory beasts and just so happened to give him an overall worse impression of how smart the illusory beasts were.

Looks like I will have to reevaluate the intelligence of the illusory beasts. For now, I should keep a constant distance from them in case they discover me, and I have to escape. After all, there is a chance that some of the illusory beasts have the ability to seal space and prevent me from using the Dao of Space to escape…

Narrowing both of his eyes as he thought about this while keeping his attention focused on the three illusory beasts in front of him, Xuan Hao deliberately slowed down his speed to create some distance between himself and the group of illusory beasts.

Just in case they had somehow managed to find out about his existence and were planning an ambush together with the other illusory beasts. Considering that their intelligence was above what he had expected, he decided not to take any chances.

Though his strength had reached a level comparable to someone in the Earth Immortal Realm, he highly doubted that he would be strong enough to fight back against a group of Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts. Even more so when there was a chance of them having some kind of weird ability that might allow them to seal space.

Whoosh-!

Worried about potentially walking into a trap, Xuan ended up deciding to not just follow a single illusory beast and instead swapped to follow another one whenever the chance presented itself and the new illusory beast appeared to be heading in the same direction as the other illusory beasts.

This way, even though his speed had decreased compared to if he had just continued following the single group of illusory beasts, he had at least made sure that he didn't end up walking into a trap-

Roooar-!

Just at this moment, a terrifying roar echoed out in the distance as an all too familiar figure came into view at the edge of his divine sense.

"The illusory dragon…"

Recognizing the figure of the illusory dragon he had fought with during the time that the two wooden gates were sealed off, Xuan Hao could not help narrowing his eyes as he observed the illusory dragon rapidly overtaking the illusory beast he was following behind before passing the area with the two wooden gates. Continuing to head in the direction that should under normal circumstances lead out of the valley.

Of course, given that the valley itself was located in a special space together with the Ephemeral Forest and the Sea of Mist, the direction where the illusory dragon was heading was blocked by the walls created by the different laws of the special space they were inside of at the moment.

Although it was possible to pass through the walls of the special space and go directly to one of the other two spaces that it was connected with without using the wooden gates connecting the three spaces, the strength required to do this was highly dependent on the strength of the space itself… And considering just how many illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm were present inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts, it was easy to imagine just how tough the walls of the space were.

To breakthrough through force, power above the Earth Immortal Realm would likely be required.

Of course, Xuan Hao also knew about another method to pass through the walls of special space, but that involved a higher level of comprehension in the Dao of Space and mastery over the long-distance teleportation technique, something he was still far off at the moment.

With this in mind, Xuan Hao could not help growing curious about what the illusory beasts were up to.

Considering the fact that none of them had surpassed the Earth Immortal Realm, as they would have been able to forcefully leave the Valley of Illusory Beasts if that was the case, Xuan Hao could not help wondering if the illusory beasts had managed to find another way to escape from the Valley of Illusory Beasts that didn't involve the Dao of Space.

Even if it was hard to imagine, it did seem possible considering just how many illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm he had encountered so far. The number of unique Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts he had seen so far already surpassing twenty, a number of Earth Immortal Realm Expert that would make even a powerful empire like the Blue Sea Empire pause.

Swish-!

Ditching the rather slow illusory beast he had been following after for the past five minutes, Xuan Hao couldn't stop himself from chasing after the illusory dragon that had already disappeared in the distance. Making sure to hide his presence from any of the nearby illusory beasts in the process, while also making sure to keep a certain distance from them at the same time.

No matter how confident he was in his own skills when it came to hiding his own presence, the illusory beasts he was trying to hide from had still reached the Earth Immortal Realm and were equipped with a soul far more powerful than ordinary Earth Immortal Realm cultivators due to their special race being centered around a dao related to the soul.

Roar?

Even with all of this in mind, some of the illusory beasts he passed by while chasing after the illusory dragon still managed to pick up on his presence to some extent.

Roar…

Luckily for Xuan Hao, these illusory beasts just looked around themselves in confusion for a short moment before continuing forward like nothing had happened after realizing that there wasn't anyone around. Blaming the odd presence, they had felt on the illusory dragon who had rushed ahead of them and caused quite a bit of havoc along the way due to the terrifying winds generated by the wings whenever they flapped to move the illusory dragon forward at a speed none of the other Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts could keep up with.

…

Rooooar!

Chasing after the illusory dragon for what felt like hours before it finally came to a stop at the edge of the special space where the Valley of Illusory Beasts was located, Xuan Hao could not help freezing on the spot as he saw what the illusory beasts had been working on for their escape from the Valley of Illusory Beasts.

The only words Xuan Hao could find to describe it was "insane", as he almost instantly realized how the illusory beast planned to overcome the natural barrier that was the walls of the special space that the Valley of Illusory Beasts was inside of.

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Chapter 1119 Path out of the Valley

Huddled together, the large number of illusory beasts seemed to have undergone some kind of metamorphosis as they seemed to momentarily merge together for short periods of time to launch attacks towards the barrier. From time to time, some of the illusory beasts would be too exhausted to merge together and would separate from the mass and leave to recover while another illusory beast took its place to keep up the attack on the barrier.

"…"

To describe it in more simple terms, all of the illusory beasts became a single large illusory beast for a short period of time and used this giant form to attack the barrier. Repeating this process over what should be at least a year at this point in time, the barrier that kept them from leaving the valley had weakened to the degree that it looked like it was about to break at any moment.

Because of this, it looked like the exhausted illusory beasts didn't wander too far away to recover and had instead gathered together not too far away.

At the same time, the illusory beasts who had left to recover had made their way back in preparation for the barrier breaking. After all, even if they managed to break through the barrier, it worked on the same principles as the normal structure of a world barrier and would end up recovering shortly after being broken. The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

Of course, the short period that the barrier was broken would be more than enough for all of these illusory beasts to escape from the valley and make their way into the outside world, or more specifically, the Blue Sea Empire.

Wait… If all of these Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts escape, won't the Blue Sea Empire be in for a rather troublesome situation considering that they seem to attack anyone other than illusory beasts upon spotting them?

Suddenly realizing this as he looked at the large number of illusory beasts working together to break the barrier, Xuan Hao could not help silently mourning for the inevitable destruction that the illusory beasts were going to cause in the Blue Sea Empire.

However, even if he knew about this, there was not really anything he could do about it with his current strength. Just the number of illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm had already exceeded a hundred and that was not even mentioning the fact that their power should have surpassed the Earth Immortal Realm after combining together to attack the barrier.

Outside of the fact that he was too weak to fight against the large number of illusory beasts, he didn't really have a reason to help out the Blue Sea Empire in the first place. On the other hand, the chaos the illusory beasts were going to cause in the Blue Sea Empire might end up being beneficial for the Star Shattering Sect in the future.

Other than all of this, he would very much like for the illusory beast to break the barrier and create a path out of the valley, as he didn't really want to be stuck inside the valley until the weird pillar in the deeper part of the valley recovered enough to restrain the illusory beasts…

BOOOOOOOOOOOM-!

Just at this moment, the illusory beasts managed to land a perfect hit of the already weakened barrier. Blowing it wide open. Rumble-!

Following the barrier being blown open, a path leading out of the Valley of Illusory Beasts and directly into the Blue Sea Empire was carved by the remnant power of the massive illusory beast that the illusory beasts had combined into.

Roar!

Roar~!

Rooooar-!

Seeing the path to freedom appearing, the illusory beasts all let out overjoyed roars as they all rushed forward. None of them wasted any time as they used all of their strength to escape before the barrier recovered and closed again.

R-roar-!

Even the weakened illusory beasts who had just used all of their energy rushed forward as they burned up part of their soul to momentarily recover their strength to escape from the valley.

Whoosh-!

Seeing the path to the outside world already starting to shrink as the barrier recovered at a speed visible to the naked eye, Xuan Hao didn't dare stand around and watch, as he also rushed forward into the path that had been created by the illusory beasts.

Given the chaotic nature of the tunnel, he could not use the Dao of Space inside the tunnel and was forced to fly normally.

Roar?

Roar!?

Even though a few of the illusory beasts managed to spot him because of this, they were far too busy trying to escape themselves to care about him. In front of possibly being able to escape from the Valley of Illusory Beasts nothing else mattered…

RUMBLE-!

Not even halfway through the tunnel, a loud rumbling sound echoed out at the back of the tunnel as the barrier of the valley repaired itself- CRACK!

What followed was a loud cracking sound as the tunnel began collapsing in on itself, starting from where it had been connected to the Valley of Illusory Beasts before working its way up towards where the tunnel was connected to the Blue Sea Empire.

Roar!?

Roa-

All of this happened in less than a second, as a few of the slowest illusory beasts had no time to react before being swallowed up by the collapsing tunnel, their fate unknown.

Whoosh-!

Not saying anything as he saw the chaotic tunnel around him growing increasingly unstable as the collapse grew closer to where he was, Xuan Hao wasted no time and used all of his strength to rush towards the end of the tunnel connected to the Blue Sea Empire. No longer caring about hiding himself from the rest of the illusory beasts.

If they ended up ganging up on him after leaving the tunnel, he would have to deal it at that time. For now, the most important thing was escaping from the chaotic tunnel and returning to the Blue Sea Empire before getting swallowed up like the increasing number of illusory beasts behind him had experienced.

Even if he couldn't see what happened to the illusory beasts being swallowed up by the collapsing chaotic tunnel, given the chaotic spatial storm that seemed to form in the place where the tunnel collapsed, it was hard to imagine that they had somehow managed to survive. After all, a spatial storm was something terrifying, capable of tearing everything apart, something he had only ever witnessed when travelling to the ancient battlefield where the ancient golem and Dao of Corruption Heart were located. Given his current understanding of the Dao of Space, he suspected that a spatial storm was essential what would happen if a true spatial collapse was done on a much larger scale.

Roar!?

At the same time Xuan Hao rushed ahead of the illusory beasts and revealed himself, somewhere not too far behind him, the illusory dragon let out a surprised roar before its expression filled with killing intent. Even if a year had passed, it still remembered how Xuan Hao had cut off its claws… And even if the rest of the illusory beasts had no time to think about Xuan Hao's presence due to the collapsing spatial tunnel, the illusory dragon was not the same as it rushed towards Xuan Hao.

In the eyes of the illusory dragon, Xuan Hao was still someone in the Soul Ascension Realm and shouldn't be able to block it given the chaotic space in the tunnel. Even if he had a powerful attack, it felt it would be able to dodge it now that it was prepared.

"Huh?"

Sensing the illusory dragon rushing towards him from behind, Xuan Hao could not help narrowing his eyes as a hint of confusion flashed through them.

Even if he was confident in fighting the illusory dragon now that he had broken through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, he understood very well that even a single second wasted on fighting inside the collapsing tunnel might end up costing him his life.

Does it perhaps want to drag me down with it or something? But it should be more than strong enough to escape from the tunnel if it put all of its power into escaping…

Not able to understand the actions of the illusory dragon now only a few hundred meters away from him, Xuan Hao was forced to stop and respond to it.

Rumble-!

Knowing that even a single second could end up costing him his life, Xuan Hao didn't hold back in the slightest as he utilized all of his power to launch a single devasting sword attack towards the illusory dragon before turning around and continuing to rush up towards the end of the tunnel.

Roar?

BOOOM-!

Suddenly faced with the terrifying sword attack, the illusory dragon could only let out a confused roar before it was forced to use all of its strength to block the attack.

ROOOAR-!

Booom!

Struggling for a short time, the illusory dragon managed to forcefully resist the attack-

RUMBLE-!

However, before it had time to celebrate, the chaotic tunnel around it collapsed and the spatial storm created by the collapse instantly swallowed the triumphant illusory dragon…

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Chapter 1120 Panicking Soul Ascension Realm Experts

"To think we haven't been able to find that old man even after searching the entire mountain range for over two years… No matter how good at hiding he is, he shouldn't have been able to hide from us in his state. Even if he found somewhere special to hide away, we should have found some traces of him by now!"

"Indeed, I'm starting to worry that he might end up recovering before we find him. Even if he can't recover his full strength, an Earth Immortal is still and Earth Immortal. At that point in time, all we can do is wait for death…"

At the same time Xuan Hao was observing the illusory beasts trying to break through the barrier and escape from the Valley of Illusory Beasts, two of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts who had been chasing after the old man in the Earth Immortal Realm were casually chatting with each other not too far away from the entrance to the Sea of Mist.

Given that two years had already passed without them finding any traces of the old man, a part of them had already started to give up hope and were secretly preparing to run away before the old man managed to recover part of his strength in the Earth Immortal Realm and decided to take revenge on them.

Even if they still felt fearful of future retaliation from the old man in the Earth Immortal Realm after they left, they also understood that there would be no way for the old man to continue staying in the Blue Sea Empire after having killed one of their Earth Immortals.

Although the experts of the Blue Sea Empire had yet to appear inside the mountain range that they had chased the old man into, information had recently leaked among the group of Soul Ascension Realm Experts that the Earth Immortal Realm Experts of the Blue Sea Empire were at the scene of the battle and had begun their search for the old man daring enough to kill one of their empire's Earth Immortal Realm Experts.

With all of this in mind, the Soul Ascension Realm Experts searching through the mountain range where the old man in the Earth Immortal Realm had hidden away understood that they only had a short time left to find him before the Earth Immortals of the Blue Sea Empire appeared.

Even if some of them had already given up and were prepared to escape before this happened or the old man managed to somehow recover his cultivation realm and come out to deal with them, the majority of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts were still fully dedicated to continuing the search.

After all, in their eyes, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to obtain the wealth of two Earth Immortal Realm Experts, though it might not be able to guarantee them reaching the Earth Immortal Realm, it would undoubtedly increase their chances.

Rumble-!

Just as the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts chatting with each other were about to find somewhere else to search for the old man in the Earth Immortal Realm, the ground beneath them started violently shaking.

"Huh? What is-"

BOOOOOOM-!

Before the two had the chance to comprehend what was happening, a large hole suddenly opened beneath them. Creating a powerful shockwave that ended up knocking both into one of the nearby mountains in the process.

"Huh…?"

"What in the…"

Witnessing the unfortunate fate of the two Soul Ascension Realm Experts who were knocked into the mountain by the terrifying shockwave that swept out following the hole in the ground appearing, the remaining Soul Ascension Realm Experts began fearfully observing the hole that had suddenly appeared.

"What is that?"

"I don't know, but what about those two, did they die…?"

Not knowing how to respond to the possible death of their two peers, they remained frozen on the spot as they began discussing the situation between each other through their divine sense. The speed of the conversation far surpassed anything archivable by a mortal as they came to a decision to investigate the hole in the ground a few seconds after it had first appeared.

Fearful as they might be of the danger involved, they also understood that the hole might be the entrance to some sort of powerful secret realm… And given that the Soul Ascension Realm Experts still present were still searching for the old man in the Earth Immortal Realm, it was obvious that their greed was stronger than normal when it came to opportunities for them to improve their chances at reaching the Earth Immortal Realm.

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

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

With this in mind, most of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts soon arrived at the edge of the hole before looking down into it-

Roooar!

Roar!

Rooooaaaaar-!

And what met them was a sight they would never forget, as close to a hundred illusory beasts entered their view, all of them carrying an aura above the Soul Ascension Realm!

Not to mention whether they would be able to get any benefits from entering the hole, none of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts thought about the old man in the Earth Immortal Realm hidden somewhere nearby. Only a single thought was left in their heads after sensing the terrifying strength of the illusory beasts heading up towards them…

Escape!

…

Almost out!

While the Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the Blue Sea Empire realized how dangerous their current situation was and began scrambling in all directions while using all of communication talismans or other special tools to contact the more powerful people behind them or just directly contacting the Blue Sea Empire to request for help, Xuan Hao had almost reached the other side of the tunnel.

The only thing preventing him from continuing to pass the illusory beasts in front of him being that he wanted to eliminate any chance of being related to the large number of powerful illusory beasts that were about to enter the Blue Sea Empie.

Outside of that, Xuan Hao also realized that the demon beasts flying beside him had begun to grow relaxed with the exit getting closer and closer to them.

Although this might not have mattered a lot in a normal situation, his current situation was far from normal and because of that, it was even more nerve wrecking to feel many illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm suddenly start paying more attention to him. After reaching the Blue Sea Empire, Xuan Hao had a feeling that these illusory beasts would start to attack him.

At least I should be able to use my Dao of Space to escape the moment I get out of this place…

Shaking his head as he thought about this, Xuan Hao ignored the illusory beasts around himself as he put all his power into preparing himself for the time, he made it out of the chaotic tunnel.

It's here!

Unfortunately for Xuan Hao, he didn't have more than a few seconds to prepare himself, as he emerged from the tunnel together with close to a dozen illusory beasts surrounding him on all sides. All of them having reached the Earth Immortal Realm-

Rooar-!

Roar!

And all of them fully intent on attacking him now that they had successfully managed to escape from the Valley of Illusory Beasts. Not a single of them cared about celebrating their escape as they all simultaneously lunged towards Xuan Hao who now found himself being attacked by close to a dozen Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts.

Rumble-!

No matter how much stronger he had become after reaching the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, Xuan Hao understood very well that he stood no chance of fighting back against so many illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm. Forcing him to use all his power to execute the Drifting Cloud Steps to get out of his current situation, while silently praying that none of the illusory beasts attacking had some kind of weird ability that would lock down the space and prevent him from teleporting away and forcing him to face them head on-

Whoosh~

Boooom-!

Luckily for Xuan Hao, it seemed like none of the illusory beasts had this kind of ability, as he disappeared from the spot before the attacks of the illusory beasts landed. Appearing a few thousand meters away with a relieved expression plastered all over his face.

"Given the disturbance that all of these illusory beasts caused with their appearance, the true experts of the Blue Sea Empire above the Earth Immortal Realm might show up soon…" Muttering this to himself as he glanced towards the large number of Soul Ascension Realm Experts escaping not too far away from the location of the hole, it was not hard to guess that these people should have already informed the Blue Sea Empire about the appearance of the large number of Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts.

I should get out of here before the experts from the Blue Sea Empire begins to show up, but before that, I have to pick up the rabbit demon beast and squirrel…

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Chapter 1121 Reunion with Rabbit Demon Beast

Wasting no time lingering around after having escaped from the illusory beasts, Xuan Hao made use of the momentary confusion of the illusory beasts to slip back into the cave where the entrance to the Sea of Mist was located before rushing straight into the Sea of Mist. Not even noticing the formation that was hiding the presence of the entrance.

Hm? Someone is here?

Only realizing something was wrong after entering the Sea of Mist, Xuan Hao could not help glancing towards the old man looking like a shriveled-up corpse sitting not too far away from the entrance to the Sea of Mist.

Someone similar to Chu Li? Whatever it is, I don't have time to waste…

Swish-! This essence is securely nested within the heart of Nøvlß¡n

Not carrying too much about the appearance of the old man due to his current state looking like he would collapse if a gentle breeze passed through the Sea of Mist, Xuan Hao rushed past the old man and made his way through the wooden gate connecting the Sea of Mist and the Ephemeral Forest.

"Huh!?"

At the same time Xuan Hao disappeared, the old man opened both of his eyes in surprise as he looked in the direction Xuan Hao had disappeared in.

"My formations were broken… An, that person just now, his strength should be above mine…" Muttering this to himself as he understood he would no longer be able to hide himself with his formations being broken, the old man forced himself to stand up as he began preparing himself for another daring escape.

Although his strength had not yet recovered, he had at least managed to recover a small part of it over the past two years. Enough to possibly make another escape from the Soul Ascension Realm Experts who were bound to come rushing into the Sea of Mist at any moment.

At least, that was what the old man thought as he prepared himself to use all of the strength, he had managed to recover to escape once again-

"Where are they…?"

However, even after a few minutes passed, no one appeared, and he was left nervously staring at the wooden gate connecting the Sea of Mist to the small cave in the Blue Sea Empire. Only able to wonder what had happened to the Soul Ascension Realm Experts that had been chasing after him.

After all, given that he had stayed in the Blue Sea Empire for quite some time, he understood very well that there was no chance of them just giving up after two short years. For them to not appear, something should have happened to them that forced them away.

But… What could cause all of those Soul Ascension Realm Experts to run away? The Earth Immortal from earlier?

Thinking this to himself, the old man could not help frowning, as he turned to look towards the wooden gate Xuan Hao had disappeared into a few minutes earlier. Not knowing whether it was safe to leave the Sea of Mist and find somewhere more secluded to recover or if there were still some of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts roaming around the area outside the Sea of Mist, waiting for him to appear.

…

Unaware of the worry and fear his appearance had caused the old man trying his best to recover his strength back in the Sea of Mist, Xuan Hao passed through the wooden gate leading to the Ephemeral Forest and soon found himself in front of the all too familiar forest constantly flickering in and out of existence.

"I wonder how much the squirrel managed to progress over the past year. Given its rapid progress under the rabbit demon beast, it might be close to reaching the Peak of the Core Formation Realm…" Muttering this to himself as he looked over the forest, Xuan Hao wasted no time in spreading out his divine sense to find the two demon beasts and Chu Li. Desiring nothing more than to leave as fast as possible and avoid potentially clashing with the Earth Immortals or more powerful experts from the Blue Sea Empire, who should be showing up to deal with the large number of illusory beasts that had appeared inside their borders.

Whoosh~

As his divine sense entered the Ephemeral Forest, Xuan Hao soon spotted the rabbit demon beast, squirrel, and Chu Li at the other end of the forest where another set of wooden gates connecting to the Sea of Mist and Valley of Illusory Beasts were located.

"So, there are more wooden gates inside the Ephemeral Forest…" Not having expected there to be more wooden gates inside the Ephemeral Forest as he had always thought there was only one pair of wooden gates in each of the three different spaces, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a bit curious about the reason behind this and if the wooden gates they connected to were different.

Swish~!

However, he didn't bother thinking about this for too long before jumping into the air in the direction of the three. Understanding very well that he had to leave the place as fast as possible to avoid the experts from the Blue Sea Empire.

Not only that, but a part of him also worried that the illusory beasts escape from the Valley of Illusory Beasts might end up waking up whatever terrifying creature had caused the Blue Sea Empire to give up on controlling the Valley of Illusory Beasts back when it had been discovered.

…

Squeak~

At the same time Xuan Hao entered the Ephemeral Forest and began making his way through the Ephemeral Forest, the rabbit demon beast let out a satisfied squeaking sound as it looked at the squirrel in front of it. Even if it had been fed with all kinds of precious spiritual herbs during the last year, the rabbit demon beast felt happy that it finally had a subordinate at the Nascent Soul Realm.

After returning to the Star Shattering Sect, the rabbit demon beast would be able to start implementing its own plans of recruiting more talented demon beasts and have the squirrel train them. Allowing it to start the process of building up its own power inside the Star Shattering Sect.

"Looks like someone is quite excited, I wonder if it's because you want a few more spiritual herbs from me?"

Unfortunately, the rabbit demon beast's happy dreams of the future were shattered, as the voice of a certain person echoed out behind it.

Squeak!

Turning around to see Chu Li happily smiling at it, the rabbit demon beast could not help feeling a shiver run down its spine as it remembered how it had spent the last year being tortured by the man. No matter how many spiritual herbs he had given and the fact that it had managed to break through to the Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm, the rabbit demon beast had no intention of getting along with him after the humiliation had caused it to experience during the last year.

Not only did it damage the rabbit demon beast mentally, but it also affected its image in the eyes of the squirrel, as there was no way the squirrel would ever look at it filled with awe after seeing it being treated like a stuffed animal by Chu Li…

"Hm?"

Just at this moment, Chu Li froze on the spot a few centimeters away from the rabbit demon beast before turning to look into the depths of the Ephemeral Forest- or to be more specific, a person who emerged from the depths of the Ephemeral Forest.

"This is… Senior!?"

Recognizing the person who had emerged from the depths of the Ephemeral Forest, Chu Li could not help tilting his head in confusion. Not understanding where Xuan Hao had come from, as the two wooden gates connecting the Ephemeral Forest and the Valley of Illusory Beasts were just a few hundred meters behind him.

"Senior!"

However, this confusion only lasted for a short instance before it was overcome by the sheer happiness of seeing Xuan Hao again.

Given that it had already been a year since their last encounter and the fact that the Valley of Illusory Beasts still showed no signs of calming down from what he could sense when peeking through the wooden gate, Chu Li did start to worry about whether or not something had ended up happening to Xuan Hao, but now that he had appeared, all of these worries disappeared.

SQUEAK-!

Swish-!

Reacting to the sudden shift in Chu Li, the rabbit demon beast also spotted Xuan Hao and wasted no time in rushing towards at a speed comparable to someone at the Peak of the Soul Ascension Relam. Possibly even surpassing that of the average Peak Soul Ascension Realm Expert-

"Huh?"

And before Xuan Hao had time to say anything to the rabbit demon beast, it crawled up his robe and entered his sleeve where the small pocket space was located. Not even bothering to care about its subordinate, who had been left behind and was still training without knowing that its master had already run away.

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Chapter 1122 Old Man in the Sea of Mist

Deciding not to bother the rabbit demon beast after it disappeared inside his robe, Xuan Hao instead turned his attention towards the squirrel demon beast that had not yet discovered him and was still busy training.

Squeak? Only after feeling his gaze did, it come to a stop and looked over with a surprised expression plastered all over its little face as it suddenly seemed to remember him. Not a second later, the squirrel seemed to understand what had happened to the rabbit demon beast as it nervously began approaching Xuan Hao. Not knowing what to do, as it was far too fearful of him to dare trying to climb up his robe.

Swish~

Knowing this, Xuan Hao casually waved his hand as the squirrel demon beast was sucked into his sleeve. Not intending to just stand around and wait for the rabbit demon beast to calm down and come out to pick up the squirrel demon beast.

"Senior…"

Seeing the two demon beasts disappearing, Chu Li could not help nervously calling out to Xuan Hao. Hoping that the senior was satisfied with the help he had provided to the two demon beasts over the past year.

"No need to worry, I see that you helped out those two quite a bit over the past year and I'm thankful for that." Understanding what was going through Chu Li's head from the nervous expression and expectant look in his eyes, Xuan Hao decided to reassure him before turning towards the wooden gate leading back to the Sea of Mist.

Even if he wanted to chat for a bit longer with Chu Li and possibly find out more about the Blue Sea Empire now that his strength had surpassed the Soul Ascension Realm and he didn't have to worry about being exposed as someone who wasn't a senior, he also understood that he would have to leave the place before the experts from the Blue Sea Empire arrived at the scene.

Although he would be more than capable of escaping from an ordinary Earth Immortal Realm Expert, he didn't blindly believe that this would be the case when encountering some of the more senior Earth Immortal Realm Experts. Especially if these people happened to be skilled in the Dao of Space.

If he really did encounter someone skilled in the Dao of Space, that person would be able to seal space and prevent him from teleporting away, something Xuan Hao wanted to avoid if possible!

And that is not mentioning the fact that an expert above the Earth Immortal Realm was very likely to show up due to the sheer number of illusory beasts that had managed to escape from the Valley of Illusory Beasts- no, it was more accurate to say that the Blue Sea Empire would have no way to deal with the illusory beasts unless an expert above the Earth Immortal Realm took action to calm down the situation before it grew out of hand.

"Senior? Is something wrong? Did something perhaps happen to the Valley of Illusory Beasts?" Seeing Xuan Hao already about to leave, while also picking up the fact that he didn't come out from the wooden of the Valley of Illusory Beasts, Chu Li quickly jumped forward and asked this.

Over the past year, he had been wondering what had happened inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts given that it was the first time it took this long for the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts to disappear and retreat back into the depths of the valley.

Now seeing how Xuan Hao was about to leave through the wooden gate leading to the Sea of Mist, Chu Li realized that something had happened, something that caused the senior in front of him to no longer want to continue exploring the Valley of Illusory Beasts!

"Hm? Oh… You probably don't want to enter the Valley of Illusory Beasts again and… Most of the illusory beast in the Earth Immortal Realm found a way to escape from the Valley of Illusory Beasts and are currently just outside the entrance of the Sea of Mist. The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.

Given how chaotic the situation is and the fact that around a hundred Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts are about to run rampant inside the Blue Sea Empire, I planned to leave this place before the more powerful experts of the Blue Sea Empire show up. Hm… Now that I think about it, it would be a good idea for you to leave as well."

"Wha…"

Hearing what Xuan Hao said, Chu Li momentarily froze on the spot as he had no idea how to comprehend what he had just heard.

The Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts that I left the valley for, escaped and are now outside the entrance to the Sea of Mist? The experts of the Blue Sea Empire might show up!? Given senior's strength, he should mean that those old ancestors above the Earth Immortal Realm are going to show up! If I get caught anywhere close to the place where someone like that is fighting, I will probably be killed without even knowing how I died…

Realizing the seriousness of his current situation and just how much danger he was in, Chu Li felt a shiver run down his spine.

If not for senior's information just now, I might have ended up dying without even knowing what happened…

"Senior! Wait for me!"

Thinking this to himself, Chu Li suddenly jumped up as he chased after Xuan Hao who had just stepped through the wooden gate leading back to the Sea of Mist.

…

"Hm?"

At the same time Xuan Hao stepped through the wooden gate and arrived back at the Sea of Mist, the old man who was still in the process of recovering opened his eyes again as he stared towards him with a cautious expression on his face.

That person is back again… What in the world did he want inside that wooden gate? Was there perhaps some kind of treasure in there or did he come back out to kill me?

Even if Xuan Hao hadn't done anything to him yet, he still didn't dare to let down his guard when faced with someone who might be stronger than him when he was in his peak state.

"Senior! Wait for me!"

However, just as the old man was prepared to get up and escape, a voice echoed out from the wooden gate connected to the Ephemeral Forest as Chu Li came barreling out of the wooden gate.

"Chu Li? Is there something you want?"

Chu Li! Isn't that the young prodigy from the Four Sea Armies?! What is someone like that doing here… And senior… Is that person perhaps one of the four sea generals!?

Listening to the short question from Xuan Hao, the old man's mind began to spin as a shiver ran down his spine. Instantly realizing who Chu Li was and starting to guess the identity of Xuan Hao.

No matter what, for Chu Li to call Xuan Hao a senior, it meant that he wasn't just an ordinary Earth Immortal Realm Expert, but someone above that. Possibly even one of the four sea generals. Terrifying beings who stood infinitely close to the realm above the Earth Immortal Realm!

Considering the fact that he had just killed an Earth Immortal Realm Expert from the Blue Sea Empire not too long ago, the old man could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine as he did his best to make himself disappear. Silently praying that the terrifying being that Chu Li referred to as senior didn't notice him.

Even if he did, he hoped that the news of what he did hadn't managed to spread to the higher ups of the Blue Sea Empire and would only be known among some of the weaker Earth Immortals of the Blue Sea Empire.

"Huh? Who is that over there?"

However, before he even had the chance to relax, Chu Li noticed him and called out with a curious expression on his face. Clearly wondering who he was. Having clearly felt the Earth Immortal Realm aura around him.

I'm doomed!

Hearing what Chu Li said and feeling the gaze of both him and Xuan Hao turning towards him, the old man could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine. Understanding very well that the next few seconds would determine whether he would live or die.

"Hehe, don't mind me, I'm just recovering from an injury I sustained in a battle with a demon beast not too long ago."

Now that he had already been spotted and was called out by Chu Li, he could only try his best to remain calm before going over to meet the two. Silently praying that none of them knew anything about him killing an Earth Immortal Realm Expert from the Blue Sea Empire, as that would undeniably result in the senior standing beside Chu Li killing him on the spot!

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Chapter 1123 Leaving the Sea of Mist

Hearing the nervously laughter followed by the old man, who had been quietly cultivating inside the Sea of Mist, bowing his head while explaining his situation, Xuan Hao could not help examining the old man more closely. Soon realizing that the old man was none other than the Earth Immortal Realm Experts who had managed to kill the Earth Immortal Realm Expert from the Blue Sea Empire before being besieged by a large number of Peak Soul Ascension Realm Experts on all sides.

To think he managed to escape in that kind of situation and even managed to begin the process of recovery after using so many forbidden techniques to forcibly increase his own strength…

Feeling a sense of admiration towards the old man as he thought about this while observing his condition through his divine sense, Xuan Hao didn't pay any more attention to the old man as he began making his way towards the wooden gate leading out of the Sea of Mist and back into the blue Sea Empire. Ignoring the earlier words of Chu Li in the process, as he had no intention of taking this person with him.

The reason for this was not just the fact that he was a part of the Blue Sea Empire, but also because he clearly had some enemies that wanted to secretly kill him off by sending him to a dangerous place like the Valley of Illusory Beasts… And considering the fact that he was still far from being able to meddle in the affairs of a giant power like the Blue Sea Empire, he decided that the best option would be to leave before he ended up getting caught in some kind of internal struggle taking place inside the Blue Sea Empire.

Swish-!

Given the difference in strength between himself and Chu Li now that he had broken through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, Chu Li didn't even have time to react before he disappeared through the wooden gate and appeared back in the small cave that the wooden gate was located inside of-

Whoosh~

And with another step, he directly used the Dao of Space to teleport away from the cave before any of the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts wandering around outside had the time to notice him. Not giving Chu Li any chance to catch up with him and possibly delaying him until the powerful experts of the Blue Sea Empire appeared.

Even if he didn't have any hostile relationship with the Blue Sea Empire and there was a good chance that he would still be able to leave if this happened, he wasn't one to take the chance. Especially after he witnessed how the group of Peak Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the blue Sea Empire had treated the Earth Immortal Realm Expert from the Blue Sea Empire…

"Wha- Senior!?"

At the same time inside the Sea of Mist, Chu Li could not help exclaiming to himself with a look of surprise plastered all over his face as he witnessed Xuan Hao leaving without responding to him.

Although he wanted to believe that it was because he hadn't heard him earlier, he understood that there was no chance of something like that being the case considering the senior's cultivation base. The most likely reason was that the senior didn't want to bother with him any longer and had decided to leave or had something important come up.

In the eyes of Chu Li, he felt that the last option was more likely as the senior didn't really seem like someone who would just ignore him and leave all of a sudden. After all, he had already put up with him for a few hours when he taught him about the Dao of Space and pointed him on the path to the Earth Immortal Realm.

"Senior…"

Even if this was the case, Chu Li could not help feeling a hint of sadness after Xuan Hao left. Not only because he might not encounter the senior in the future given the fact that he should be a wandering cultivator that just happened to be passing through the Blue Sea Empire, but also because he now had to find a way to survive the large number of Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts lurking outside the Sea of Mist.

Confident as he might be in escaping from a single Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast that had just broken through to the realm with his current strength, there was no way he would be able to escape from the large number currently outside the entrance of the Sea of Mist.

"But… With such a large number of Illusory Beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm, the four armies are bound to make a move to calm down the situation. Even those old ancestors won't be able to sit still with such a large number of powerful illusory beasts running around inside the empire…" Muttering this to himself as he thought about the large number of illusory beasts just outside the Sea of Mist, Chu Li felt himself starting to relax again.

Even without the help of Xuan Hao, he should be able to just wait around for his seniors to start moving out and deal with the situation. After all, even if it would be hard to deal with so many illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm, it was not impossible with the Blue Sea Empire's strength. Especially so if some of the ancestors above the Earth Immortal Realm appeared to take charge of the situation…

WHAT!? The large number of Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts? Four armies? Old ancestors? What in the world happened outside the Sea of Mist?!

At the same time Chu Li was feeling himself relax after realizing he could just continue waiting around inside the Sea of Mist for his seniors to show up and clean up the mess, the old man sitting not too far away listening to what he said could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine upon hearing what Chu Li said. This chapter was first shared on the Ñøvlß1n platform.

Although the seniors and powerful experts from the Blue Sea Empire would help Chu Li get out of the current situation safely, the same could not be said for the old man, as he was currently wanted by the Blue Sea Empire for killing one of their Earth Immortal Realm Experts.

Given that over two years had already passed since then, his remnant aura had undoubtedly been recorded by the Blue Sea Empire's special artifacts and would be able to pick up on his presence the moment he got anywhere close to one of them.

The only positive thing about this was that these kinds of artifacts were rather hard to make and could only be found inside some of the larger cities of the Blue Sea Empire and along the border.

Of course, there were always exceptions to this and one of these exceptions just so happened to be the four armies, who were one of the few forces in the Blue Sea Empire that had these artifacts. The main reason for this being that it would normally be the people from the four armies who tracked down anyone wanted inside the Blue Sea Empire.

I… I have to get out of here before those people show up!

With this in mind, the old man who had just barely managed to recover a small part of his strength after two grueling years trying to mitigate and repair the damage that the different forbidden techniques and pills used had done to his body and soul, began making his way towards the wooden gate leading out of the Sea of Mist.

The danger posed by the large number of illusory beasts roaming around outside that Chu Li had mentioned was the least of his concern, as continuing to stay inside the Sea of Mist would undoubtedly get him killed when the people from the four armies appeared.

"You! Where are you going? It's dangerous outside there-"

"I understand, there are illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm running rampant. Although my current state isn't too good, I'm still someone in the Earth Immortal Realm, you don't have to worry about me." Rumble~

As Chu Li spotted him and called out to him, the old man calmly responded as he used some the precious power, he had recovered to display his Earth Immortal Realm aura and suppress Chu Li. Understanding that if he didn't do this, there was a chance that Chu Li might grow suspicious of him or try to restrain him.

"I-I see, I didn't expect you to be a senior. Forgive me my rudeness."

Indeed, after feeling the might belonging to an Earth Immortal Realm Expert bearing down on him, Chu Li slightly bowed his head before retreating with a hint of fear in his eyes. Not having expected that the old man was actually someone in the Earth Immortal Realm.

"Then, I will take my leave."

Swish-!

Not intending to stay around for a second longer, as he felt the little power gathered over the past two years rapidly draining while he used his aura to suppress Chu Li, the old man wasted no time as he left the Sea of Mist.

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Chapter 1124 The Four Armies of the Blue Sea Empire, East Sea Army

"This… Is far more dangerous than I expected…" Passing through the wooden gate, the old man could not help freezing on the spot as he felt the terrifying presence of close to a dozen Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts appearing all around him. Even if he had just heard about it from Chu Li, seeing it in person and hearing about it were two completely different things. Rooar-!

Roar!

The slim hope that Chu Li had been exaggerating when describing the scene outside the Sea of Mist evaporating with the terrifying roars of the illusory beasts happily celebrating their escape from the Valley of Illusory Beasts not too far away.

No, I have to get out of this place before they discover me!

Realizing that he couldn't waste any time lingering around the entrance to the Sea of Mist, the old man used all the strength he had managed to gather over the past two years to utilize his movement technique to its limits-

Swish-!

Turning into a thin shadow that rapidly flew out of the cave before heading in the direction of the border of the Blue Sea Empire. Dodging any illusory beasts in his path along the way, as he did his best to not get too close to any of the more excited illusory beasts celebrating their escape from the Valley of Illusory Beasts.

Not so much because these illusory beasts were much stronger than the rest of the illusory beasts, but because they were unconsciously using their strength to destroy the environment around themselves.

Along the way, the old man also managed to spot some of the Peak Soul Ascension Realm Experts who had chased him down in the past and forced him to hide away inside the Sea of Mist while he recovered from his battle with the Earth Immortal from the Blue Sea Empire. The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.

Although he really wanted to kill these people and take revenge for them forcing him into his current situation of now having to escape from a place surrounded by a large number of Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts, he also understood that he didn't have any strength to spare on these Soul Ascension Realm Experts, as even a single attack might end up draining the little strength he had left.

On the positive side, the Soul Ascension Realm Experts in question didn't have it easy either, as they were all trying their best to escape from the large number of Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts that had appeared all of a sudden.

As things would have it, they had nowhere near the speed needed to escape nor the strength to make the illusory beasts hesitate on whether or not to attack them- Roar-!

Boom!

Because of this, all of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts that the old man saw along the way were fighting on the brink of death using all of their precious items to fend off the illusory beasts.

"Ahhh! My spiritual artifact! I used 500 years to craft it!"

"Gone… My family heirloom passed down for the past thirty generations. Gone just like that…"

"Damnable beasts! You will all die when the- Ahhh-!"

Unfortunately, even with all of these precious items, they could at most hold back the illusory beasts for a short period of time before the items in question were destroyed by the illusory beasts, who wasted no time in killing a few of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts.

Ironically, the battles between the illusory beasts and Soul Ascension Realm Experts resulted in the old man safely passing through a large number of illusory beasts that would normally be blocking his path. In the end allowing him to safely escape from the illusory beasts without doing anything other than using his movement technique.

…

Whoosh~

At the same time the old man in the Earth Immortal Realm was trying to drag his injured body to safety before the people from the Blue Sea Empire appeared, Xuan Hao appeared above a small mountain range far away from the large mountain range where the illusory beasts were currently running rampant.

This should be far enough away from the-

"Huh?"

About to take another step forward and begin his journey back towards the Star Shattering Sect, Xuan Hao could not help freezing on the spot as his divine sense picked up a large object rapidly flying towards him at a speed that made the illusory dragon look slow in comparison. Looking closer, he discovered that the flying object was some kind of massive flying ship several thousand meters long.

"Earth Immortal Realm… And so many of them…" However, the thing that caused Xuan Hao to stop was not the impressive size of the ship, but the fact that he felt close to a dozen people in the Earth Immortal Realm on the ship. Not only that, but one of these people's strength was far above anything he had ever felt before. Making him wonder if the other party was one of the Blue Sea Empire's ancestors that had surpassed the Earth Immortal Realm.

If it really turned out to be the case, the other party would definitely have a way to forcibly restrain him and prevent him from using the Dao of Space to run away…

Looks like I will have to wait and see what they want from. At least, considering the fact that I haven't done anything, I should be fine- Unless my connection to the Explorer Union ends up causing problems…

Once again feeling regretful over the fact that he had tried to hide his true identity by using the identity he had created in the Explorer Union to find the spiritual herb needed to awaken Qing Yi's divine physique, Xuan Hao could only remind himself to never do something like that again in the future as he silently waited for the massive flying ship.

Rumble~!

As the flying ship came to a stop a short distance away from him, Xuan Hao felt a bit nervous as he watched around five Earth Immortal Realm Experts covered in armor from head to toe jump out of the ship before coming to a stop a few hundred meters away from him. Taking the lead, the strongest among the five Earth Immortals walked closer while the rest remained stationary.

Looks like they aren't here to cause trouble…

Seeing how only one of the five approached him while also picking up the polite expression on the face of the Earth Immortal approaching him, Xuan Hao felt himself relaxing.

"Fellow Daoist, might I ask if there is anything I can help you with?"

With this in mind, Xuan Hao returned a polite smile as he asked this. Curious about why the group in front of him had stopped him.

"Yes, we recently received information that a large number of unknown beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm appeared not too far away from here in the Fae Mountain Range and wanted to know if you had any information about this given you came from that direction." Nodding his head in confirmation as he said this, the man in the lead turned his attention towards Xuan Hao. Eager to hear whether or not he had any information.

Came from that direction… Looks like there is someone skilled in the Dao of Space on the ship...

Narrowing both of his eyes slightly after hearing what the man said, Xuan Hao could not help feeling grateful that he decided to stay and wait instead of trying to leave. After all, for the other party to pick up the direction he had come from, the other party shouldn't be too far behind him in terms of comprehension and might even be superior to him in the Dao of Space.

"No problem, I did manage to learn a bit about the current situation…"

Knowing that he might not be able to escape in case he fell out with the people on the flying ship, Xuan Hao decided to inform them about the current situation on what he found out was called the Fae Mountain Range. Making sure to modify it a bit so it seemed like a passerby who had nothing to do with the large number of illusory beasts and just happened to pass by and witness them coming out of the ground.

In any case, the information wasn't really anything special considering that a large number of Soul Ascension Realm Experts had witnessed this scene as well and some of them were bound to have informed their friends and the Blue Sea Empire about this before trying to escape.

"Hm… I see, this situation is far more troublesome than expected, I really have no idea how those people expect the East Sea Army to deal with such a thing on its own… Anyway, thank you for the information. Unfortunately, we will have to leave, but you can always feel free to stop by the East Sea Army in the future for a chat."

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

Not giving Xuan Hao any time to react after saying this, the man and the rest of the Earth Immortal Realm Experts returned to the flying ship before the ship in question flew off in the direction of the Fae Mountain Range where the illusory beasts were located.

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Chapter 1125 The Small Abandoned Temple

I wonder what that person meant with only the East Sea Army being dispatched to deal with the illusory beasts alone is true…

Watching as the flying ship disappeared as fast as it had appeared, Xuan Hao could not help feeling curious about what the man from the East Sea Army had said before he left with the rest. After all, even if the people on the flying ship were powerful and there were around a dozen Earth Immortal Realm Experts present, it was far from enough to deal with the close to hundred Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts.

Could it perhaps be that Chu Li isn't the only person being targeted by someone in the East Sea Army, but instead that the entire army has been targeted by someone and they are currently trying to use the illusory beasts as a way to suppress and possible kill them? Feeling his thoughts wander as he remembered how Chu Li had likely been targeted by someone who wanted to kill him by sending him to the Valley of Illusory Beasts, Xuan Hao realized that it wasn't just Chu Li being targeted, but also the East Sea Army itself.

"The situation in the Blue Sea Empire is far more dangerous than I first thought, it was a good idea to not recklessly get myself involved with Chu Li and the East Sea Army…" Muttering this to himself as he continued looking in the direction that the flying ship had disappeared in, Xuan Hao could not help feeling relived that he didn't stay behind and get himself involved with Chu Li.

Even if he did have a good impression of him given his help in explaining the Valley of Illusory Beasts and how respectful he was to him, it was far from enough to make him risk his life to get involved in whatever mess the East Sea Army found itself in at the moment.

Swish-!

Just about to leave again, Xuan Hao once again stopped himself as he turned to look at the figure that had suddenly appeared at the edge of his divine sense. The main reason why this person caught his attention was that the strength of the person who appeared was above the Soul Ascension Realm and had reached the Earth Immortal Realm. Although, upon closer inspection, it was clear that the person in question was in a bad state. NvεlB¡n: A Haven for Bookworms and Dreamers.

"Isn't that the old man from the Sea of Mist? I guess he decided to escape after learning about the situation from Chu Li. Although, I wonder why the people from the East Sea Army didn't stop him… Hm… Maybe they didn't bring that special artifact with them…?" Muttering this to himself as he watched the old man struggle with all his might to continue using his movement technique while getting closer to him, Xuan Hao felt curious about what plans the old man had.

Not so much because he cared about the old man, as they essentially didn't have anything to do with each other, but because he was curious about how he planned to leave the Blue Sea Empire in his current state. After all, not to mention crossing the border that was guarded by a lot of powerful cultivators who would at least be in the Later to Peak Stages of the Soul Ascension Realm, he likely wouldn't even be able to reach the border in his current state.

The reason why he was certain that the old man didn't just plan to find somewhere new to hide away and recover was because more people from the Blue Sea Empire were bound to show up to search for any illusory beasts after the people from the East Sea Army inevitably failed to deal with them.

At that point in time, it wouldn't be possible for the old man to find a new place to hide and recover his strength inside the Blue Sea Empire, as the entire place would be teeming with Earth Immortals and possibly stronger cultivators from the Blue Sea Empire.

Whoosh~

With this in mind, Xuan Hao decided to hide himself from the old man before he had a chance to find him. Not something difficult to accomplish considering how bad the old man's state was at the moment.

As for it taking him a few days or weeks longer to return to the Star Shattering Sect… Xuan Hao didn't really care too much about that, as he still felt like he had a few years left before the Earth Immortal Realm Expert from the Heavenly Dragon Temple appeared.

Outside of that, if something really did end up happening back in the Star Shattering Sect, Feng Chen would always be able to contact him through the communication talisman he had left with him before leaving the sect.

All things considered, he had more than enough time to spare on finding out what the old man was up to.

Maybe, if he was lucky enough, he might find another path into the Blue Sea Empire that didn't involve crossing the borders of the empire, something that might become useful in the future when the Star Shattering Sect began looking to expand beyond the borders of the Sky Empire.

…

Almost collapsing on the ground after using his movement technique for the past few minutes to escape from the place filled to the brim with illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm, the old man in the Earth Immortal Realm came to a stop in front of the small mountain range that Xuan Hao had talked with the people from the East Sea Army only a short time earlier.

Of course, the old man had no idea about something like that happening, as he just thought it was a normal mountain range.

"This should be far enough. Even if those illusory beasts chase after me, I doubt they will come before the people from the Blue Sea Empire shows up to deal with them…" Almost whispering this to himself as he looked back in the direction he had come from with a hint a relief on his aged face, the old man used his divine sense to scan the small mountain range before finding a small abandoned temple on the side of one of the mountains.

Whoosh~

Wasting no time, he used what little strength he had left to fly down to the small temple before finding a small seating place to sit down and stabilize his condition. Even if he didn't use all of the power, he had managed to gather over the past two years, using it in his current state inevitably caused some complications that he had to deal with as fast as possible to prevent future problems.

The small, abandoned temple was not out of the ordinary and looked like an ordinary temple that had been abandoned for a few hundred years, with parts of it starting to crumble without any repairs or maintenance.

Given the age of the Ewaria Continent and the fact that many old wandering cultivators chose to find somewhere secluded to build a small place for themselves to reside after giving up hope of breaking through and extending their lifespan. Places like the small temple weren't out of the ordinary and places like it could be found all around the place.

Because of this, Xuan Hao who was observing the old man now silently cultivating inside the temple didn't really pay any attention to the temple after arriving at the small mountain range-

"This should be enough for now…"

however, this changed when the old man suddenly opened his eyes after having dealt with the most pressing injuries that had appeared after he used his movement technique to escape and began making his way into the deeper parts of the temple that were still in a somewhat fine state since the temple had been abandoned.

"This should be the place…"

It was inside this part of the temple that Xuan Hao witnessed the old man methodically pulling out a small metal box that had been buried under the rubble from part of the ceiling that had been collapsed before retrieving two dusty talismans that looked like they were about to fall apart at any moment.

"Hm… If I'm not wrong, they should be placed around here…" Muttering something to himself as he looked over the dust covered interior of the temple, the old man soon arrived in front of a small inconspicuous stone before placing the two dusty talismans on top of it-

Rumble~!

Instantly causing the inconspicuous stone to absorb the two dusty talismans before a power emerged from the small stone and began to slowly draw in qi from the surroundings to draw a large formation on the floor of the temple.

"This is-!?"

Seeing the formation slowly appearing on the floor of the temple, Xuan Hao could not help sucking in a breath of cold air.

Although the speed at which the formation was being created was slow and would at least take a few weeks before being completed, it was undoubtedly a teleportation formation!

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Chapter 1126 East Sea Army vs Illusory Beasts, First Clash

Why is there a teleportation formation here? Is this perhaps something that the old man set up before engaging in the life and death battle with the Earth Immortal Realm Expert from the Blue Sea Empire, or is it perhaps something that was set up by someone else in the past and the old man just happened to learn about it?

Watching as the teleportation formation was slowly being drawn on the floor of the abandoned temple, Xuan Hao could not help wondering where the formation had come from.

If it did indeed come from the old man, it should have been set up years in advance, while if it had been set up by someone else, it left up the question of who would set up this kind of formation in the middle of nowhere for no discernible reason.

In the end, the only reason he could think of someone other than the old man setting up the formation, would be if there was some kind of organization inside the Blue Sea Empire that sold these kind of hidden teleportation formations to the different people who had ended up being wanted by the Blue Sea Empire and were desperate for a way out that didn't involve them getting killed by the border guards of the Blue Sea Empire.

Considering the fact that the people wanted by the Blue Sea Empire would likely pay far more than the formation itself was worth, it would be quite a profitable business. Of course, there was always the danger of being discovered by the Blue Sea Empire by doing it but given how many treasures and spirit stones one could earn, Xuan Hao didn't doubt that there would be quite a few people interested in doing something like that. Even at the risk of being hunted down by the Blue Sea Empire.

The worst-case scenario would be that the Blue Sea Empire became enraged enough to send a powerful expert proficient in the Dao of Space. After all, with someone like that, it would be impossible to escape with the use of teleportation formations, as someone skilled in the Dao of Space could simply track down the location and follow…

Rumble~

As the formation continued to take shape over the next few hours, parts of the abandoned temple began to crumble. Revealing large intricate formation symbols hidden behind the crumbling walls of the temple. Slowly, the formation began becoming more and more complicated. Reaching the point where even Xuan Hao felt a sense of amazement at the profound understanding of the Dao of Space that the creator of the formation had imbued into the formation.

Even with his current comprehension of the Dao of Space, observing the teleportation formation taking shape would help deepen his understanding of the Dao of Space, while at the same time also helping his formation knowledge improve for the first time in a long time.

With this in mind, Xuan Hao didn't bother keeping an eye on the old man and instead focused his full attention on the formation. Not really believing that the old man planned to leave the abandoned temple after having activated the teleportation formation.

…

At the same time Xuan Hao began studying the teleportation formation as it took form inside the old, abandoned temple, the flying ship carrying the people from the East Sea Army arrived at the Fae Mountain Range where the close to a hundred illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm were currently running rampant.

Standing at the bow flying ship, the Earth Immortal Realm Expert that had asked Xuan Hao for information just a short time earlier could not help widening his eyes in disbelief as he stared out at the close to twenty illusory beasts celebrating in the air not too far away. Even from a distance, it was obvious that all of them were in the Earth Immortal Realm. Not only that, but a few of them had even exceeded the level of ordinary Earth Immortal Realm Experts and reached the realm he himself was in.

"To think the situation would be this bad…" Unconsciously muttering this to himself as his gaze remained locked on the four or so illusory beasts whose strength was comparable to his own, the difficulty of the task assigned to them by the imperial family began to truly set in.

Outside of the East Sea General who had reached the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm, there were only 11 people in the Earth Immortal Realm on the ship, two others like him who had surpassed the realm of ordinary Earth Immortals, while the rest were considered ordinary Earth Immortals.

Even with the help of different combat formations that allowed them to work together and showcase power beyond their original power, taking on the twenty illusory beasts in front of them would already be the limit of what they could accomplish with their current strength, let alone take on the close to hundred illusory Beasts that were said to be present.

Even if the general made a move, I doubt that he would be able to-

Roar!

It was at this moment, while he was lost in his own thoughts thinking about the difficulty of the task in front of him and his comrades, that one of the illusory beasts discovered the massive flying ship approaching them-

Roooaar-!

ROAR!

Rooar-!

Almost instantly following the first illusory beast's roar, the rest of the twenty illusory beasts turned around and began roaring threatening towards the incoming flying ship. Clearly having perceived the threat posed by the people on top of the flying ship.

"Everyone, get ready for battle!" Narrowing both his eyes after seeing the large number of illusory beasts getting ready to jump on them, he gave out a simple command to the rest of the soldiers present on the ship.

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-! NvεlB¡n: A Haven for Bookworms and Dreamers.

Whoosh-!

Instantly causing all of the Earth Immortal Realm Experts except for the East Sea General to rush to the bow of the ship. Ready to face the illusory beast.

Rumble~

Not too long after the Earth Immortal Realm Experts arrived at the bow of the ship ready to face the illusory beasts, the weaker soldiers below the Earth Immortal Realm began activating the different offensive and defensive formations on the ship. Even if they couldn't directly participate in the battle, they would do their best to support from the side with the help of the powerful formation etched into the flying ship!

ROOOOAR-!

Not too long after all the formations had been activated, the first illusory beast dashed forward to face the incoming flying ship-

Boom-boom-boom!

Soon enough, the sound of fighting echoed out across the Fae Mountain Range as the soldiers from the East Sea Army clashed with the illusory beasts for the first time-

Roar-!

Rooooaaar-!

However, as time passed, more and more illusory beasts were drawn to the scene of the battle, causing the original twenty or so illusory beasts to grow to over forty with more illusory beasts rapidly rushing over after realizing that someone was daring enough to attack them.

"This- How are there so many of them!? Not to mention illusory beasts comparable to us, there is even an illusory beast at the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm approaching!"

As the number of illusory beasts attacking the soldiers of the East Sea Army continued to grow, one of the three Earth Immortals who had surpassed the realm of ordinary Earth Immortals could not help exclaiming in fear as he sensed the presence of an illusory beast at the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm.

"We have to retreat!"

"Everyone, fall back to the ship!"

Of course, he was not the only one who sensed the terrifying illusory beast at the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm, as the rest of the Earth Immortals also sensed it, causing all of them to rapidly retreat back to the flying ship where they could at least enjoy the protection of the countless defensive formations etched into the ship.

Rooar-!

Seeing them retreating, the illusory beasts all let out triumphant roars as they began working together to attack the defensive formations on the flying ship-

Crack-!

Not taking long before causing a few cracks to appear on the formation. After all, even if the formation protecting the flying ship was powerful, there was no way it would be able to hold up for an extended period of time when faced with the combined attack of over forty illusory beasts in the Earth Immortal Realm.

ROOOOOOAR-!

As if to make matters worse, the illusory beast at the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm appeared at this moment. Inspiring fear among the soldiers on the deck of the ship, be they Earth Immortals or not, as it used its mastery over the Dao of Illusions to create a massive illusory construct large than the flying ship itself in the shape of a claw to attack.

"Haaa…"

However, just before the massive claw reached the formation guarding the flying ship, a loud sigh echoed out from the depths of the ship, as a terrifying power rushed out and restrained the claw before it could hit the formation.

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Chapter 1127 Unfortunate East Sea General

Boom-!

As the two powers collided with each other above the flying ship, a terrifying shockwave was created that swept out through the nearby illusory beasts. Instantly forcing them back and preventing them from continuing their attacks on the flying ship.

Even if all of them were in the Earth Immortal Realm, it was clear just how big the difference between them and someone at the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm was, as even the shockwave from the clash was enough to force them back and prevent them from continuing their attack on the flying ship.

Roar-!

Roaaar!

Instead, all they could do was retreat to a safe distance before surrounding the flying ship and start to roar threateningly towards the people on top of the flying ship. Ensuring that they would not be able to use this opportunity to try and escape.

Of course, none of them dared to get any closer in case they ended up getting caught up in the fight between the human and illusory beast at the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm.

Boom-boom-boom!

Not too long after this, the East Sea General and the powerful illusory beast began fighting each other seriously. Leaving the soldiers on the flying ship shivering in fear as the battle in question happened to take place almost directly above the flying ship.

Even with the countless formations protecting the ship, it still took the 11 Earth Immortal Realm cultivators on top of the ship everything they had to ensure those formations didn't end up breaking when faced with the terrifying residual power from when the two pinnacle level Earth Immortals clashing with each other almost right above them.

Roar!

It was at this moment, the illusory beast at the pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm exploded with a terrifying aura before it began to forcibly push the East Sea General back towards the ground. Showing just how powerful it was at it gained the upper hand in the battle-

Crack!

At the same time, the increased pressure from the battle getting closer to the flying ship became too much for the formations on the ship to endure, as they began cracking apart visibly under the terrifying might of the illusory beast.

Roooar-!

Rooaaaar!

Roar!

Seeing this, the illusory beasts who had already retreated and were currently surrounding the flying ship from all sides began to happily cheer on as they watched the fearful and strained expression that appeared on the faces of the different soldiers on top of the flying ship.

"To think the general can't win… Just what kind of beasts are these illusory beasts?"

Filled with both doubt and disbelief, one of the soldiers in the Domain Lord Realm could not help muttering this to himself as he stared up at the peerless general in his heart being suppressed by the illusory beast.

"Who knows!? Even if the general is stronger, he won't be able to fight with all his strength as long as we are around!" Overhearing what he said, another Domain Lord Realm guard was unwilling to accept the premise that the general couldn't win against an equal opponent as he said this.

"Indeed… Maybe the general is worried about implicating us and is holding back?"

"Yeah, the general is kind and wouldn't do anything that could end up killing us!"

"Haha, indeed, the general is too kind. Even in this kind of situation, he thinks about us before himself!"

Not to be beaten, the rest of the soldiers jumped in on the conversation as they all began praising the general.

No matter whether or not the East Sea General was really being suppressed by the illusory beast, it had already turned into a fact among the soldiers on the flying ship. Even the Earth Immortal Realm Experts observing the battle taking place above while also doing their best to try and stop the defensive formations breaking felt that this was the case.

Among everyone present, only a small guard in the Nascent Soul Realm had noticed the small bit of blood that had begun trailing down the side of the general's mouth. "…"

However, given how energetic and spirited everyone became after they concluded that the general was just holding back so as to not implement them, he decided to not say anything about it. Understanding that his fellow soldiers wouldn't take well to the news. Especially considering that their current situation was less than optimal with the defensive formations growing weaker with each passing second.

"Ah! That all makes sense, but… If that is the case, we need to find a way out of here as fast as possible, before more illusory beasts appear and before the general ends up in an even worse situation due to our presence!" This chapter was first shared on the Ñøvlß1n platform.

With all of this in mind, the small Nascent Soul Realm soldier decided to speak up and suggest for them to try and find a way to escape from the battle so as to help out the general and give him a chance to unleash his full strength.

Of course, his true motive behind saying this was simply to survive the current dangerous situation. Compared to the rest of the soldiers present who had almost all grown up inside the East Sea Army and had lived together for a long time, he had only just recently joined the East Sea Army through the recommendation of a friend…

"Huh? Escape!? How can we leave the general to fend for- Wait it might be a good idea…" "Hm… Indeed… If we can leave, the general should be able to fight without having to worry about us."

"Only by leaving will the general be able to show these beasts his might!"

Following the suggestion of the Nascent Soul Realm soldier, the rest of the soldiers on the ship began discussing among each other-

"Newcomer, great idea! Everyone, prepare yourselves, we are going to forcibly break through the encirclement!" In the end, one of the leading Earth Immortals caught wind of the situation and agreed that it would be their best course of action.

Even if the general couldn't beat the illusory beast before another similarly powerful illusory beast appeared, he would at least have a better chance to escape if they weren't around. After all, so far, only forty or so of the close to one hundred illusory beasts had appeared!

Rumble-!

Not even a second following the command of the leading Earth Immortal Realm Expert, the flying ship sprung into action and charged towards the weakest point in the encirclement that was only guarded by a little over five of the illusory beasts-

BOOM-!

Roar!?

Roar!

Managing to forcibly break through with the help of the flying ship's offensive formations before any of the nearby illusory beasts had the chance to rush over.

Whoosh-!

Having escaped from the encirclement, the formations covering the flying ship disappeared as it was covered in countless small formation symbols-

Swish-!

And in the next second, it turned into a stream of light that disappeared into the distance, having activated some kind of escape formation engraved into the flying ship for escaping just this kind of dangerous situation.

The reason for not using this escape formation before breaking out of the encirclement being rather simple, as they would have to disable all of the other formations to use it. Not really something they would be able to do inside the encirclement with the constant barrage of residual power from the battle taking place above them.

…

At the same time that the flying ship carrying the soldiers of the East Sea Army disappeared into the distance, the East Sea General grimaced as he blocked the illusory construct of the illusory beast in front of him. Different from what most of his subordinates were thinking, what the Nascent Soul Realm soldier had thought was indeed accurate, his situation wasn't that good.

However, the reason for this was not that the illusory beast was stronger than him, but because the illusory beast happened to be perfectly suited for countering him and his particular fighting style that focused on the strength of his physical body that had grown to a level comparable if not superior to a demon beast in the same realm as him.

Specializing in the Dao of Illusions and a soul-based lifeform? Just how bad is my luck…

To be more specific, his physical attacks did less damage to the illusory beast because it was a soul-based lifeform that didn't really have a physical body in the same way a normal human or demon beast did, while at the same time also specializing in soul based attacks- And with one of his main weaknesses being his soul that was weaker than other Earth Immortals around his realm, the illusory beast could truly be considered the worst kind of opponent for him…

As he thought about this to himself, the East Sea General silently lamented over his bad luck. For the first time in a long time, he wanted to run away from a fight-

ROOOOAR-!

However, before he could do this, another roar equal in strength to the illusory beast he was currently facing echoed out in the distance...

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Chapter 1128 Escaping from the Fae Mountain Range and Chu Li's Decision

"Another illusory beast at the Pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm…" Feeling the terrifying aura the accompanied the roar, the East Sea General could not help narrowing his eyes as he muttered this to himself.

Given that he was already struggling when it came to dealing with a single illusory beast at the Pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm, it was obvious that he had no way to face off against two of them at once. On the other hand, if the two teamed up to attack him, they might be able to seal his path of escape and kill him through their terrifying soul attacks.

I have to get out of here…

With this in mind, the East Sea General didn't think twice before turning around to escape in the same direction that the flying ship had escaped in. Not caring about the task that had been handed down to him by the imperial family.

Even if his enemies would make use of this chance to try and weaken him and his East Sea Army, it was still far better than dying. Not to mention, the strength of the illusory beasts had far exceeded the estimations given by the imperial family when they gave him the task.

In their estimation of the illusory beasts that they had made based on the information sent in by the different Soul Ascension Realm Experts who found themselves inside the Fae Mountain Range when the illusory beasts had emerged from the ground, the strongest among them would only be a bit above that of an ordinary Earth Immortal Realm cultivator given the fact that these Soul Ascension Realm Experts managed to stay alive, some even escaping the Fae Mountain Range by the time the East Sea Army arrived at the Fae Mountain Range. Far from being at the Pinnacle of the Earth Immortal realm…

From this alone, it was obvious that the stronger illusory beasts had either decided not to attack the Soul Ascension Realm cultivators or that the imperial family had lied to the East Sea General about the strength of the illusory beasts.

No matter what it was, the East Sea General understood that there was nothing to do about it in his current situation other than trying to negate some of the punishment that the imperial family would try and push on to him and his army.

"I hope that kid is okay…"

As he transformed into a ray of light and disappeared before the two powerful illusory beasts could catch up to him, the East Sea General could not help glancing towards the deeper parts of the Fae Mountain Range where the entrance to the Sea of Mist was located.

Given his status and the fact that Chu Li was one of the most talented people in his army, he had of course learnt about his departure for the Sea of Mist and the Valley of Illusory Beasts that it was connected to.

Unfortunately, he didn't stop him in time and just when he was about to set off to pick him up before he encountered a dangerous situation, the illusory beasts somehow managed to free themselves from the Valley of Illusory Beasts and appeared in the Fae Mountain Range.

In the end, there was nothing he could do other than pray for his safety as he flew in the direction of the flying ship to meet up with his subordinates and inform the imperial family about the situation and learn about the next plan of action now that he and his army had failed in suppressing the illusory beasts.

…

At the same time that the East Sea General retreated together with his army after being faced with the two powerful illusory beasts at the Pinnacle of the Earth Immortal Realm, Chu Li was helplessly staring towards the wooden gate in the distance.

"I wonder when the general and the rest will show up to deal with the illusory beasts…" Muttering this to himself as he remembered what Xuan Hao had said about the illusory beasts running rampant outside the Sea of Mist, Chu Li could not help wondering if his seniors from the East Sea Army would show up and help him get out of the Sea of Mist without being attack by the powerful illusory beasts outside.

After all, even if he hadn't informed them about where he was going when he left to try and break through to the Earth Immortal Realm, he understood that it wouldn't be difficult for them to find out where he was going… And knowing the general it wouldn't be surprising if he already knew about him going to the Valley of Illusory Beasts to seek an opportunity to increase his comprehension of the Dao of Illusions and breakthrough to the Large Success Realm.

The reason for this was rather simple, as the number of places inside the Blue Sea Empire that would allow someone to comprehend the Dao of Illusions was extremely limited, let alone places that would be helpful for someone like him who had already reached the Peak of the Small Success Realm and was close to reaching the Large Success Realm.

Outside of the Valley of Illusory Beasts, the only other location he knew about was a special location tightly guarded by the imperial family where their younger generation went to comprehend the dao, a place they would never allow anyone other than direct descendants of the imperial family to enter.

Hm? Now that I think about it, with all of those illusory beasts gone, won't I be able to freely explore the Valley of Illusory Beasts without having to worry about being attacked by them?

Suddenly realizing this as he was thinking about when he would be saved by his seniors, Chu Li's eyes started shining as he turned towards the wooden gate connected to the Valley of Illusory Beasts in the distance.

Although the Valley of Illusory Beasts might be dangerous to enter given that the situation inside was difficult to understand after so many illusory beasts had escaped, he felt like it might also be an opportunity for him.

After all, outside of the illusory beasts that would be able to help increase his comprehension of the Dao of Illusions after he killed them, he had also heard a few rumors about spiritual herbs growing in the deeper parts of the valley where the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts would normally live.

The spiritual herbs were said to at least have reached the Transcendent Grade and were said to have the ability to increase one's comprehension of the Dao of Illusions after being consumed. Working in a similar way to the mysterious power that left the body of the illusory beasts after they were killed and could be absorbed to increase one's comprehension of the Dao of Illusions.

If it was under normal circumstances, he would never think of trying to explore the deeper parts of the valley where these spiritual herbs were rumored to grow, but now that the Earth Immortal Realm illusory beasts had managed to escape from the valley and were running rampant in the Fae Mountain Range outside the Sea of Mist, he felt temped to try and enter the Valley of Illusory Beasts to get his hands on the spiritual herbs…

As time passed and minutes turned into hours and hours into days, Chu Li understood that he wouldn't be saved any time soon, as it seemed like the illusory beasts were far stronger than he had first expected. To the point where even the Blue Sea Empire had a hard time dealing with them.

During this time, he had tried to poke his head outside the Sea of Mist for a few seconds to check if the illusory beasts were still around and just so happened to witness a large bird demon beast in the Earth Immortal Realm unlucky enough to pass through the Fae Mountain Range being torn apart by a group of illusory beasts.

This scene alone was more than enough to make him obediently stay inside the Sea of Mist without daring to poke his head outside again in case he was discovered by one of the illusory beasts. This chapter was first shared on the Ñøvlß1n platform.

But…

At the same time, he also began growing more interested in reentering the Valley of Illusory Beasts to try and get his hands on the spiritual herbs he had heard about.

Even if the method to reach the Earth Immortal Realm given to him by Xuan Hao was useful, increasing his comprehension of the Dao of Illusions was not a bad thing as it would only make him stronger. In the end, he still intended to use Xuan Hao's method to break through to the Earth Immortal Realm because he felt that it would make him stronger in the long term and give him a better foundation.

At least, if his Dao of Illusions reached the Large Success Realm, he would be able to break through in case no help arrived, and he had to escape on his own!

With all of this in mind, after over two weeks of no one coming to save him, Chu Li finally came to a decision, as he made his way through the wooden gate connected to the Valley of Illusory Beasts-

"Huh!?"

Instantly finding himself trapped inside the valley without any way to return…

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Chapter 1129 Half Bloom~

As the East Sea Army retreated from the Fae Mountain Range after finding out that they were far too weak to deal with the Illusory Beasts, Xuan Hao was silently observing the teleportation formation that was slowly forming beneath the old man in the Earth Immortal Realm.

Given that his understanding in formations was extremely elementary when compared to the person who had set up the teleportation formation, the simple act of observing the formation forming allowed his understanding of formations to increase by leaps and bounds. Directly allowing him to break through to the Artisan Realm and make steps towards reaching the Master Realm in a short week.

Of course, stepping into the Master Realm by only observing the formation of the teleportation formation below was unrealistic. Even then, it did allow him to get some insights into the realms beyond the Master Realm when it came to formations.

His comprehension of the Dao of Space through the teleportation formation- didn't really result in any real benefits, as he realized that the comprehension of the person who had set up the formation actually had an inferior understanding in the Dao of Space compared to himself.

The only reason why he thought otherwise when first seeing the formation was due to the formation enhancing the power of space contained inside of it. Making it seem far more complicated than it actually was at first glance.

Even then, the creator of the teleportation formation had still managed to make use of this level of comprehension of the Dao of Space to create a teleportation formation that covered a distance far beyond what should be possible with the creator's comprehension of the Dao of Space. Showing just how terrifying his understanding of formations was.

If I'm not wrong, he the creator of the teleportation formation should have already comprehended the Dao of Formations and managed to integrate it with the Dao of Space to some extent…

Narrowing both of his eyes as he thought about this while observing the teleportation formation, Xuan Hao could not help wondering how strong the creator of the formation was.

Given the fact that he should have comprehended the Dao of Formation, he should have at least reached the realm of a Grandmaster when it came to formations, while his ability to integrate the two Daos together hinted that his strength wasn't just at the Domain Lord Realm.

Together with the fact that the Dao of Space wasn't really the easiest dao to comprehend, Xuan Hao had a feeling that the strength of the person who created the teleportation formation should have at least reached the Earth Immortal Realm- And not someone ordinary in the Earth Immortal Realm.

Rumble~!

As two entire weeks passed by since the teleportation formation had started forming, a loud rumbling sound suddenly echoed out from beneath the abandoned temple. Following which the qi in the air around the mountain that the temple was one top up was rapidly swallowed up by the teleportation formation.

"It's finally finished activating."

Having spent this entire time waiting inside the temple while slowly recovering what little he could over the past two weeks, the old man slowly got up while saying this. Turning his full attention towards the now glowing formation symbols covering the entirety of the abandoned temple.

Whoosh~!

Not too long after the old man got up, the teleportation formation sprung into action and created a terrifying spatial force that directly engulfed the old man before sending him shuttling through space in the direction of the Blue Sea Empire's borders- or to be more specific, the borders of the Blue Sea Empire that happened to be connected to the Sky Empire and another few weaker empires.

"Well… This should save me some time compared to flying there myself…" Muttering this to himself as he observed the passage left behind by the activation of the teleportation formation, Xuan Hao didn't waste any time before he used his own power to enter the passage left behind by the teleportation formation.

Not intending to stand around and wait for it to crumble and disappear along with the abandoned temple, that had already crumbled together with the teleportation formation's activation a few seconds earlier.

Although it would require him to use his own strength to travel over such a large distance, his current strength was more than enough to accomplish something like this. Especially when considering that the passage itself had already been created and he just had to follow it while ensuring that he didn't end up getting swept up in some kind of spatial anomaly along the way.

In the end, both Xuan Hao and the old man disappeared from the inner region of the Blue Sea Empire with any signs of them leaving being destroyed together with the collapse of the small, abandoned temple.

The only sign of what had happened being the small spatial anomaly left behind by the spatial tunnel being created, something that would soon cease to exist, as the laws of the world patched up the hole like it had never been there in the first place over the next few seconds.

Riiip~!

Not too long after this, the space next to the abandoned temple tore apart as a person covered in a long black robe making their appearance hard to guess, appeared above the now destroyed temple.

"Another one of these teleportation formations... Just who is it that keeps setting them up? Even after such a long time, that person still somehow manages to elude us…" As the person above the temple muttered this to themself, a terrifying power suddenly descended on what was left of the temple. Instantly destroying it without leaving any traces of its existence behind.

"Hm? Now that I think about it, there was a situation with a few of those illusory beasts from the valley where that terrifying creature is sealed managed to escape. If I'm not wrong, that rebellious brat from the East Sea Army went to try and deal with it but ended up failing after encountering two illusory beasts in the Half Bloom Stage. The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.

Hehe, from what I know about that guy. Although his strength is above that of an ordinary Earth Immortal in the Half Bloom Stage, he is rather weak when faced with soul-based attacks. Even if there was only a single illusory beast at the Half Bloom Stage, I doubt it would have made any difference…"

Chuckling to themself while saying this, the person hidden beneath the black robe turned around and left in the direction of the Fae Mountain Range. Clearly intending to check up on the situation with the illusory beasts.

After all, if the illusory beasts ended up leaving the Fae Mountain Range and began to split up, the situation would get somewhat out of hand. Not only because it was hard to catch an illusory beast in the Earth Immortal Realm, but because the illusory beasts could hide far better than normal demon beasts with the help of the Dao of Illusions.

If they realized they were being chased, it would be difficult for anyone below the Earth Immortal Realm to find them. Not to mention, even those in the Earth Immortal Realm would have a hard time finding them if they decided to hide in places filled with demon beasts.

…

Whoosh~!

At the same time that the unidentifiable person left the abandoned temple after having completely erased it from existence, the old man in the Earth Immortal Realm suddenly appeared out of thin air inside a large swamp-

"Ah!?"

Splash!

And without any time to stop himself, he ended up falling straight into the muddy swamp water.

Damnable injuries…. If not for the fact that my reaction speed was also hurt, I would never have been forced to endure something like this. The only saving grace is that no one is around to-"

Whoosh~

Just as the old man was whispering something to himself, the space behind him split open before Xuan Hao stepped out through the crack. Given the fact that the spatial passage wasn't something he could control and the fact that the old man would undoubtedly notice him when he appeared so close to him. Even if he was injured. Xuan Hao decided to just reveal himself without bothering to hide.

Splash~

"Huh!?" Of course, his sudden appearance caught the old man off guard, as he instantly jumped up from the muddy water without cleaning himself up.

"Who are you!?"

Seeing that Xuan Hao wasn't wearing anything resembling someone from Blue Sea Empire's military, he calmed down a bit, but was still on edge as he asked this.

After all, he had just silently appeared behind him without notice and seemed to have come through the same way he had made it to the swamp somewhere outside the Blue Sea Empire. Meaning he had been watching him for some time and found a way to follow him through the passage left by the teleportation formation…

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Chapter 1130 The Realm above the Earth Immortal Realm...

"Don't worry, I just happened to pass by the temple while you were activating the teleportation formation and saw it as a great opportunity to save some time by following the spatial passage left behind by the formation. After all, travelling to the border of the Blue Sea Empire normally would take at least a few weeks under normal circumstances."

Seeing the cautious expression plastered all over the old man's face, Xuan Hao reassured him that he didn't mean him any harm.

Of course, even with him doing his best to reassure the old man, the old man still remained cautious. Even if Xuan Hao said he didn't mean any harm, the old man had no way to make sure this was the case. Especially considering that he had been chased down by a large number of Soul Ascension Realm Experts just a short a few weeks earlier and part of him worried that Xuan Hao was one of these Soul Ascension Realm Experts who had managed to sneak inside the temple without him noticing. Resulting in both of them being teleported outside the Blue Sea Empire in a place where it would be far easier to monopolize the two interspatial rings filled with the wealth of two Earth Immortal Realm Experts that he had on him at the moment.

Whoosh~!

Knowing the thoughts that might be going through the head of the old man, Xuan Hao decided to use his strength to surpass the old man. Not to attack him, but just to show him that he was more than strong enough to kill him if he so wished, while at the same time also showing that he had no reason to lie and try to make him lower his guard against him.

"Earth Immortal Realm…" Feeling the pressure coming from Xuan Hao, the eyes of the old man momentarily flickered as his tensed state relaxed. Understanding that Xuan Hao wasn't one of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts who had been chasing after him for the past two years.

Given the strength displayed by Xuan Hao, he understood that he would have no way to resist in his current state if Xuan Hao really wanted to kill him and seize his wealth.

Of course, if he wanted to do that, he would already have done it. Showing that Xuan Hao did indeed not have any ill intentions and should be true to what he said about passing by the spatial passage and deciding to make use of it to save some time in leaving the Blue Sea Empire.

Wait a second… If what he said is true, doesn't that mean he managed to travel through the spatial passage without the help of the formation?! This person is actually someone who comprehended the Dao of Space!

Suddenly realizing this, the old man could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine.

The Dao of Space was well known as one of the most difficult Daos to comprehend, only surpassed in difficulty by some of the more legendary Daos, like the Dao of Karma or the Dao of Time.

Even in a large empire like the Blue Sea Empire, the number of people who comprehended the Dao of Space could be counted on one hand. Most of them being among the old ancestors who had surpassed the Earth Immortal Realm or other powerful cultivators who had settled down inside the Blue Sea Empire due to certain special locations inside the empire being helpful to their cultivation.

For someone to comprehend the Dao of Space, that person was undoubtedly a senior in the Earth Immortal Realm or an existence above the Earth Immortal Realm!

With this in mind, the old man felt even more relaxed than before. Understanding very well that there was no reason for someone like that to covet the wealth of someone like himself.

If he really wanted it, there was a much larger chance that he would have just asked him about it directly instead of killing him. After all, even at his best, he was at most a bit stronger than other Earth Immortals. Far from enough to make him comparable to those stronger Earth Immortals who could easily fight a dozen of ordinary Earth Immortals…

Whoosh~

"I see that you understand that I mean you no ill will now." Removing his pressure on the old man after seeing he archived the effect he wanted, Xuan Hao smiled slightly at the shocked expression on the old man's face.

If not for the fact that he had reached the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, he might not have been able to convince the old man so easily. At least his strength would still look like it was in the Soul Ascension Realm. Potentially making the old man think he was one of the people who had been chasing after him for the past two years…

"I'm sorry for the earlier rudeness, it's just that my current situation is not that good, and I don't want to take any risks."

"I understand, I would be the same in your state. For now, the most important thing for you should be finding somewhere to recover if I'm not wrong?"

"Indeed, I will need to find somewhere safe to recover for the next five to ten years or longer without being interrupted. Given that I'm a wandering cultivator, it will be a bit difficult if the people who put me in this state decided to start searching for me…" Smiling a bit wryly as he said this, the old man didn't bother hiding the fact that he was being chased by someone and even hinted at the fact that he was not attached to any power. Obviously trying to see if Xuan Hao was willing to help him.

After all, it wasn't that difficult to find out who was chasing after him considering that he had just escaped from the Blue Sea Empire. Especially when there weren't any smaller forces with power inside the Blue Sea Empire like there were in the Sky Empire.

Of course, with how obvious the old man was, Xuan Hao also realized what he was asking for. Given the fact that the old man was someone in the Earth Immortal and had information on the Earth Immortal Realm and would also be able to help teach the disciples and elders of the Star Shattering Sect, Xuan Hao was more than happy to take him in and make him a part of the Star Shattering Sect.

The only problem was that taking him in might cause problems for the Star Shattering Sect if the Blue Sea Empire expanded their search for him outside the borders of the Blue Sea Empire and into the surrounding smaller empires like the Sky Empire.

If he was found at that time, the Star Shattering Sect would have to face off against a power that was equal to if not stronger than the Heavenly Dragon Temple in another few years. Although he and the Star Shattering Sect would be stronger at that point in time, he doubted it would be strong enough to face off against those two terrifying powers at once. Not to mention, he expected to deal with the Earth Immortal from the Heavenly Dragon Temple without the rest of the temple finding out about, as he doubted that person would divulge the place, he wanted to explore in the Shattered Star Peaks.

"…"

Thinking about the benefits and dangers that was involved as he looked over at the nervous old man, Xuan Hao could not help frowning to himself as he couldn't come up with a solution. Even if it was beneficial to take in the old man, it was undoubtedly also a great risk to the Star Shattering Sect that had been able to develop relatively peacefully over the years.

"Senior, if I myself isn't enough, I also have information on the Celestial Immortal Realm that I'm willing to hand over to you to ensure my own safety." Seeing how hesitant Xuan Hao was, but also seeing that he dared to contemplate going against the Blue Sea Empire, the old man took a deep breath before stepping forward and saying this with a solemn expression on his face. The initial instance of this chapter being available happened at N0v3l.Bin.

"Celestial Immortal Realm?" Not knowing what the old man was talking about, Xuan Hao could not help tilting his head in confusion as he asked this.

"Yes! The Celestial Immortal Realm! I'm sure you are aware of the danger involved in the blooming process of the lotus flower when breaking through from the Earth Immortal Realm to the Celestial Immortal Realm, the information I want to share is about the tribulation that one will encounter during the blooming process and some ancient information on the realm. Although the last part is undiscernible to me due to it being mostly written in a language, I haven't been able to understand."

Nodding his head as he said this, the old man thought Xuan Hao was interested in agreeing as he took out an ancient looking book and handed it over to him without saying anything more. Understanding that he would not be able to keep the ancient book himself after he told Xuan Hao about it. Gambling on him not just taking the book and leaving.

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Chapter 1131 Learning about the Earth Immortal Realm

Hearing what the old man said and seeing the ancient looking book that he handed him; Xuan Hao could not help freezing for a short moment before starting to look through it to determine whether or not the old man told him the truth.

This...

Reading through the ancient book, it did not take long before a shocked expression made its way onto his face.

What the old man said was indeed true, the ancient book did contain information on the Celestial Immortal Realm and had part of it written in an unknown language that reminded Xuan Hao of some of the other ancient texts he had encountered from the past.

However, the thing that caught his interest was neither of these two but was instead a detailed explanation of the Earth Immortal Realm that was written at the start of the book. The explanation was detailed and finally gave him an opportunity to understand the mysterious Earth Immortal Realm that had seemed to elude him over the past few years.

From what was written in the ancient book, Xuan Hao realized that after someone managed to overcome the Immortal Soul Tribulation and break through to the Earth Immortal Realm, the soul of the cultivator would undergo a fundamental change. The change would cause the soul itself to transform into the shape of a closed lotus, with the Dao that the cultivator had comprehended forming a protective layer around the soul. The lotus became known as a Dao Lotus because of this connection to the dao comprehended by the cultivator.

Depending on the cultivators comprehension of the dao, more layers could be formed around the lotus flower, with the Small Success Realm being able to form a single layer and the Large Success Realm able to form 3 layers, there was also the Perfection Realm beyond that, but reaching this level of comprehension in a Dao before reaching the Earth Immortal Realm was rare even during the ancient time that the book was written in.

Other than that, it was also noted that reaching the Large Success Realm was a core requirement for breaking through to the Earth Immortal Realm, as without at least forming three layers around the lotus flower, the soul might end up being too weak to handle the power of the Earth Immortal Realm, thus causing it to collapse, killing the cultivator.

For this reason, most Earth Immortal Realm cultivators would enter secluded cultivation after breaking through to the Earth Immortal Realm. Only coming out after they had successfully managed to form three layers around their soul.

Although, it was not out of question for someone to successfully reach the Earth Immortal Realm without comprehending a Dao to the Large Success Realm, though exceptions like this was rare according to the ancient book and could only happen with the help of a special physique that could offset the burden placed on the body by the power of the Earth Immortal Realm.

So… How did I manage to give birth to a Dao Lotus without breaking through to the Earth Immortal Realm?

As he finished going over the introduction to the Earth Immortal Realm, Xuan Hao could not help wondering about the Dao Lotus inside his dantian. According to the ancient book, it would only form after reaching the Earth Immortal Realm. Not only that, but according to the system, although his Dao Lotus had six layers, his strength was only comparable to an Earth Immortal who had just broken through and finished stabilizing their strength.

Maybe the Dao Lotus created through the Dao Domain Lord Realm is different from the one created by breaking through to the Earth Immortal Realm?

Thinking about this to himself, Xuan Hao could only shake his head before turning his attention back towards the ancient book. Hoping that it might be able to help clear up some of his doubts. Although, given that the ancient book didn't mention anything about the Dao Domain Lord Realm, he highly doubted this to happen.

At least he hoped to find out how to add more layers to the Dao Lotus, as his Dao of Illusions had already reached the Large Success Realm and could be used to make another two layers. Hopefully increasing his strength in the process…

Continuing to read through the ancient book, it did not take long before Xuan Hao found the method to create more layers around his Dao Lotus. In a sense, it was a rather simple process and just required him to spend some time condensing the layer around his Dao Lotus, the real difficulty in creating more layers didn't come from actually creating them, but from comprehending the dao.

To create more layers around the Dao Lotus, one would either have to break through to the Perfection Realm in the Dao used to reach the Earth Immortal Realm or find a way to comprehend a brand new dao, both of which were difficult tasks that could take hundreds if not thousands of years to accomplish.

Of course, with the Earth Immortal Realm having the word immortal in the realm, the lifespan of someone in the Earth Immortal Realm far exceeded that of anyone below the Earth Immortal Realm. Although not truly immortal, someone in the Earth Immortal Realm added fifty thousand years to their lifespan after breaking through, with the stronger ones being able to live for over a hundred thousand years.

However, the main difference when it came to lifespan that Xuan Hao learnt about in the ancient book was the fact that some Earth Immortal Realm Experts would be able to forcibly seal themselves and slow down the speed at which their lifespan ran out.

Even if doing this would prevent them from continuing to comprehend the dao and increase their strength, essentially giving up on reaching the Celestial Immortal Realm, it did allow them to continue guarding their families for a far longer period of time than they would normally have been able to do.

Reading about this, Xuan Hao could not help wondering if a powerful Empire like the Blue Sea Empire had a method to seal away their powerful seniors when their cultivation was about to run out.

Although the methods to seal away someone was incredibly rare even in the ancient time and cost a lot of resources to maintain, Xuan Hao could not help feeling that a powerful empire like the Blue Sea Empire that had stood strong for a long time might have been able to get their hands on this kind of technique.

In the end, learning about the existence of a method to seal away powerful ancestors when they were about to pass away so they could continue protecting the power they were from made him feel far more careful about offending powers like the Blue Sea Empire.

Who knew, given the age of the Blue Sea Empire, they might have some old founding ancestor from the ancient past who had surpassed the Celestial Immortal Realm sealed away somewhere inside their ancestral palaces…

Haaa… I don't need to worry about this for now, I'm not enemies with the Blue Sea Empire and I doubt the Heavenly Dragon Temple will find out about the Star Shattering Sect before my strength reaches a level comparable to the Celestial Immortal Realm…

Shaking his head as he thought about this to himself, Xuan Hao focused his attention back on the ancient book and finally reached the part that described the division in the Earth Immortal Realm.

From forming the first three layers to the eighth layer around the Dao Lotus, one would be known as an ordinary Earth Immortal Realm Expert, the most common Earth Immortal.

After forming the ninth layer around the Dao Lotus, one would be able to be considered someone strong in the Earth Immortal Realm and could be considered an expert across the entire continent.

After forming eighteen layers around the Dao Lotus, one would reach the stage known as Half Bloom, where the Dao Lotus already began showing signs of blooming. At this stage, one could begin to attempt breaking through to the Celestial Immortal Realm.

However, this was not the end, there was another stage above the Half Bloom Stage, known as the Radiant Bloom Stage!

Upon reaching the Radiant Bloom Stage, one would naturally break through to the celestial Immortal Realm, causing a unique natural phenomenon in the process.

Of course, the difficulty of reaching the Radiant Bloom Stage was terrifying. Requiring one to form 36 layers around the Dao Lotus, a feat that was considered close to impossible even in the ancient past.

Those successful in reaching the Radiant Bloom Stage would all have a smooth journey through the Celestial Immortal Realm.

"…" This chapter was first shared on the Ñøvlß1n platform.

Reading through all of this, Xuan Hao could not help turning his attention back towards the Dao Lotus that had formed inside his dantian, was the purpose of the Dao Domain Lord Realm perhaps in preparation for reaching the Radiant Bloom Stage after breaking through to the Earth Immortal Realm. Directly breakthrough to the Celestial Immortal Realm in one step?

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Chapter 1132 Past Memories

If the Dao Domain Lord Realm is really in preparation for reaching the Radiant Bloom Stage. Doesn't that mean I will have to grow the layers around my Dao Lotus Flower to 36 before I can breakthrough to the Earth Immortal Realm?

Narrowing both of his eyes as he thought about this, Xuan Hao could not help wanting to find the old elder from the Mirage Sect to get more information about the Dao Domain Lord Realm from him. Unfortunately, the old man had already perished together with the collapse of the trial ground. If he wanted to find out more about the Dao Domain Lord Realm, he would have to return to the mystic realm and find more of the celestial trials left behind by the Mirage Sect. Only in these celestial trials did he feel like he had a chance at finding out more about the Dao Domain Lord Realm. Maybe he might even be lucky enough to encounter another elder from the Mirage Sect and get information directly from him.

Outside of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, he also wanted to try and find out more about the Three Immortals Bloodline. After all, the elder from the Mirage Sect had clearly noticed it and trusted him more because of it.

Although he still to this day had no clue about what the Three Immortals Bloodline was, he knew that it should be related to his past, the only problem was that the only thing he remembered from before reaching the Flying Sword Sect was the fact that he had been fleeing from something terrifying beyond his imagination.

Even after his strength had reached the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm and should have full control over his own memories from birth to now, he still couldn't recall anything more than fleeing from something terrifying for years before he ended up at the Flying Sword Sect. This chapter was first shared on the Ñøvlß1n platform.

At first, he had thought it was just because it had traumatized him enough that the memories had been forcibly suppressed, but upon reaching the Domain Lord Realm, he began thinking that his memories had been sealed away by someone. After all, a suppressed memory due to a childhood trauma was not something that should exist inside someone who had reached the Domain Lord Realm, it would have become an internal demon that would be impossible for him to not detect when he broke through.

Following the information about the Three Immortals Bloodline coming to light, he felt that the memory being sealed was more likely.

The only problem with this line of thought was… Who sealed his memories? Given his current strength being comparable to someone in the Earth Immortal Realm and his soul being far stronger than that of a normal Earth Immortal Realm Expert, it made no sense for him to not even be able to feel any seal placed inside his soul.

Even if the other party was in the Celestial Immortal Realm, Xuan Hao felt that it would be impossible for him to not notice… And… From this line of thought came another idea, the idea that part of his soul storing the memories of his childhood and escape had been destroyed when he had transmigrated, and the two different souls had merged together.

During the short merging process of the two different souls, although a new stronger soul emerged in the end, did end up damaging the memories of his time on earth to some extent.

With that in mind, it wouldn't be weird for the same thing to have happened with his memories of his childhood before the Flying Sword Sect-

"S-senior…"

Just at this moment as Xuan Hao felt his thoughts wandering towards his past before the Flying Sword Sect, the old man who had been standing patiently waiting in front of him while he read through the ancient book for the past hour could not help calling out to him. Feeling worried that staying at the same spot just outside the borders of the Blue Sea Empire might end up causing them problems if one of the border guards carrying the special artifact used to identify outsiders and people wanted by the empire happened to pass by close enough for it to pick up his aura.

Hm?

Being rudely awoken from his thoughts as he was in the process of trying to figure out his past, Xuan Hao could not help frowning slightly as he turned to look towards the old man in front of him.

"I think we should leave this place for now. Although it's outside the borders of the Blue Sea Empire, it's still relatively close to the border and if a border guard happens to pass by…"

Hearing what the old man said, Xuan Hao realized that they were indeed rather close to the border of the Blue Sea Empire, close enough that he could sense a border crossing at the edge of his divine sense. "I understand, let's move a bit farther away from the border. After I finish reading through the ancient book, I will give my answer to your request."

"Thank yo-"

Whoosh~!

Before the old man could even thank him, Xuan Hao used his domain to grab him before flying in the opposite direction of the Blue Sea Empire's border.

Even though he had no idea about where he was at the moment and only knew that it should be close the Sky Empire, he understood that no matter where he had ended up, it would almost certainly be safer than staying close to the borders of the Blue Sea Empire.

As for finding his way back to the Sky Empire, that could always wait until after he finished reading through the ancient book and decided on whether or not to take in the old man.

After all, even though he had indeed helped him out a lot when it came to understanding the Earth Immortal Realm with the ancient book, he also felt more on edge against the Blue Sea Empire after learning about the existence of a method to slow down one's death by forcibly being sealed away.

If the Blue Sea Empire wasn't around or he had a way to guarantee that they wouldn't show up in the Sky Empire in the next 50 or so years, he wouldn't have hesitated to take in the old man. Unfortunately, that was not the case and he had to chose between losing an Earth Immortal Realm Expert and potentially becoming enemies with the Blue Sea Empire before he had the strength to fight them…

At least I should look through the rest of the ancient book before coming to a decision on what to do.

Thinking this to himself as he arrived at a desolate mountain range after travelling for over half an hour, Xuan Hao put down the old man before focusing his attention back to the ancient book. Skipping past the part about the Earth Immortal Realm that he had already finished and instead turning his attention towards the part about the Celestial Immortal Realm that the old man had been hopeful would be what made him agree to take him in.

"Huh?"

However, after starting to read through the first part that was about breaking through from the Earth Immortal Realm to the Celestial Immortal Realm, Xuan Hao could not help frowning to himself as he noticed a very clear disclaimer at the top of the page.

[This method is only suitable for those following the path and is unsuitable for those who didn't break through the Soul Ascension Realm.]

Although the disclaimer on the top was written in ancient language, he could somewhat decipher what it said and although it didn't specifically mention the Dao Domain Lord Realm, it felt like it was referring to the Dao Domain Lord Realm.

After all, he didn't know about any other path that skipped over the Soul Ascension Realm, but that could just be because he still hadn't learnt much about other cultivation paths.

For example, the path used by the followers of different gods could also be included in this disclaimer, as they didn't follow the same path as cultivators did.

From what he knew, their power was derived from the divine power granted by their god. For this reason, they didn't have to go through a tribulation and would just have to gather enough faith for their god and be rewarded with more strength.

Of course, there was a major drawback to something like this and that was one couldn't really improve on their own and had to rely on the power of the god behind them to improve. Meaning they would never be able to surpass the god above them and might forever be stuck upon reaching a certain realm.

Shaking his head as he thought about this, Xuan Hao could not help smiling wryly as he decided to skip past the part on breaking through to the Celestial Immortal Realm that the old man hopped would help convince him to take him in…

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Chapter 1133 New Guest Elder

Continuing to read through the next part of the ancient book that should be about the different realms in the Celestial Realm, Xuan Hao was surprised to discover that he couldn't understand what was written beyond the part about reaching the Celestial Immortal Realm. Even more confusing, the reason he couldn't understand it was not that it was written in the ancient language that he was still in the process of deciphering, but instead because some kind of mysterious power seemed to blur the text. Making it impossible to read.

Did someone place a restriction on the Celestial Immortal Realm part of the ancient book?

Narrowing both of his eyes as he focused the combined might of both his divine sense and dao domain on the ancient book in an attempt to see through what he perceived to be some kind of restriction, Xuan Hao soon met some kind of resistance-

Whoosh~!

However, upon being met with resistance, he suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine as a sense of primordial fear welled up inside him. Not even when facing the terrifying creature sealed beneath the ruins of the Raging Flame Sect did, he feel this level of fear!

"What is this thing…" Unconsciously muttering this to himself with a fearful expression on his face as he drew back his divine sense and dao domain from the restriction he encountered, Xuan Hao wasted no time in throwing the ancient book into an empty interspatial ring before turning to look at the old man standing a few meters away from him.

Although he understood that there was no way that the old man had anything to do with the terrifying restriction on the ancient book and the overwhelming sense of terror he had experienced, he could not help looking towards him for answers.

Silently hoping that he would at least know about the terrifying restriction placed on the last few pages of the ancient book pertaining to the Celestial Immortal Realm.

"Is something wrong with the ancient book?" Unfortunately, the old man had no idea about what had just happened and could only tilt his head in confusion in response to the sudden inquisitive glare from Xuan Hao.

"No… It's nothing, I just finished reading through it…" Understanding from the old man's gaze that he had no about the danger hidden away inside the restriction on the ancient book, Xuan Hao decided to brush the matter aside for now.

"…"

Hearing what he said, the old man froze on the spot before his expression became extremely nervous while looking towards him with a hint of anticipation flashing through his old eyes.

Ah! I almost forgot because of the ancient book; I still need to decide on what to do with this old man…

Meeting the expectant eyes of the old man, Xuan Hao instantly realized what he was thinking about as he threw the matter of the ancient book to the back of his mind for now. Even if he wanted to continue investigating the ancient book, he also understood his own limits and decided not to needlessly risk his life for a chance to learn about the different realms in the Celestial Immortal Realm.

In the first place, he was still in the Dao Domain Lord Realm and was far from being anywhere near breaking through to the Celestial Immortal Realm. Investigating the Celestial Immortal Realm could always wait until he was stronger.

With all of this in mind, Xuan Hao began to methodically go over the negatives and positives of accepting the old man in the Earth Immortal Realm. Not wanting to mess up and accidentally end up causing the Star Shattering Sect to face off against a terrifying power like the Blue Sea Empire…

First of all, the addition of an Earth Immortal Realm Expert would undoubtedly speed up the progress at which the strength of the disciples and elders improved. Possibly even giving birth to the first Soul Ascension Realm Expert of the Star Shattering Sect in the near future.

Secondly, with a powerful Earth Immortal Realm Expert holding down the fort, he would be able to leave the sect and travel around without constantly thinking about someone potentially appearing and destroying the Star Shattering Sect during his absence.

The main negative to all of this was the fact that the Earth Immortal Realm Expert came with quite a bit of baggage. Even if the terrifying chaotic qi formation guarding the Shattered Star Peaks where the main sect was located, he didn't feel certain that it would be able to conceal the presence of the old man from the special artifacts used by them.

After all, there was a high chance that these special artifacts had been crafted by one of the powerful ancestors of the Blue Sea Empire and were far more effective than any tracking talisman he had encountered in his life so far.

The thought of sending the old man to a branch sect to recover and just cut off the branch sect if anything ended up happening did occur to him, but it didn't last for long as he thought about it for a few seconds.

Given the temperament of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the Blue Sea Empire that he had encountered so far, he had a feeling that they might try and use it as an excuse to either destroy his sect to get their hands on the resources stored inside of it or just try and rob him as the strongest expert in any sect were bound to have a most of the sect's important resources on them or close by so they could keep an eye on them.

…

As the sun slowly started dipping below the horizon without Xuan Hao giving any response to the old man's request, the person in question could not help growing a bit impatient as he looked up at Xuan Hao still trying to figure out whether the benefits of adding the old man to the sect would outweigh the negatives.

What is this person hesitating so much for… Although he thought this to himself while watching Xuan Hao thinking about whether or not to help him out having received the ancient book, the old man never forgot to remain respectful to Xuan Hao.

No matter what the outcome became, he would have no way to change it in his current injured state. Instead, he hoped that Xuan Hao would at least refuse him faster so he could get a chance to escape farther away from the Blue Sea Empire before they began starting to search the different empires bordering their empire.

Even if doing something like this might seem like an overreaction and waste of resources from the side of the Blue Sea Empire, especially when considering that they still had to deal with the close to hundred illusory beasts in the Fae Mountain Range, the old man also understood that the Blue Sea Empire would not let go of someone who killed one of their top experts-

"Old man, what is your name?"

"Hm!? Ah, you can just call me Pei Yang or just Old Pei." Startled by Xuan Hao's voice, the old man called Pei Yang froze for a short moment before giving his name.

"Pei Yang… I see… From this day forward, you will be a guest elder of the Star Shattering Sect. During the next few years, I will ensure you have somewhere safe to recover. In return, I hope you will help teach the disciples and elders of my sect at least once every month.

Of course, considering your current state, I don't expect you to start teaching immediately and you will have half a year without needing to show up and teach anyone."

"This- Thank you!" Listening to what Xuan Hao said with a somewhat shocked expression on his face, Pei Yang didn't expect Xuan Hao to actually accept him and provide him somewhere safe to recover.

Although he had assessed Xuan Hao to not be someone bad after their short exchange earlier in the day and handed over the ancient book for him to read through, deep down, he had not really expected him to agree with his request. The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.

After all, when everything was said and done, it was a massive risk to take someone like him in, as it would essentially be the same as going against the Blue Sea Empire... And to do something like that, one needed a certain level of strength and confidence.

"Let's get going, we should get out of here before anyone from the Blue Sea Empire shows up." Not waiting for Pei Yang to recover from the shock of his request being accepted and officially becoming a guest elder of a sect he had never heard about before; Xuan Hao directly used his dao domain to pick up the old man before flying in the direction of the Sky Empire.

Whoosh~

Unseen to the old man, Xuan Hao casually put away a communication talisman that he had retried earlier without Pei Yang noticing…

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Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough #Chapter 1134 At the same time... - Read Cultivating Disciples to Breakthrough Chapter 1134 At the same time... Online - All Page - Novel Bin

Chapter 1134 At the same time...

At the same time Xuan Hao began making his way back to the Star Shattering Sect, Elder Song and Feng Chen were both looking at each other with shock. In front of them, a communication talisman could be seen on the table. "To think Xuan Hao would actually be able to convince an expert above the Soul Ascension Realm to join the sect…" Muttering this as he picked up the communication talisman and put it away, Feng Chen still had a shocked expression on his face. Not able to believe what Xuan Hao had somehow managed to convince such a powerful expert to join the Star Shattering Sect during his time outside the sect.

"Indeed, even if we do end up potentially becoming enemies with this Blue Sea Empire that he mentioned, it should take a long time before they even think about searching through a small empire like the Sky Empire. Giving us more than enough time to grow stronger and have more people reach the Soul Ascension Realm. Potentially also giving birth to a few Earth Immortal Realm Experts of our own…" Nodding his head as he said this, Elder Song also felt happy over the fact that the Star Shattering Sect would be gaining an Expert in the Earth Immortal Realm.

Even if the other party would remain hidden while he recovered from his injuries, he would still be teaching the disciples and elders at least once a month according to what Xuan Hao had told them. Providing an opportunity for the elders and disciples to rapidly improve with the guidance of a senior in the Earth Immortal Realm.

Even if the other party would remain hidden while he recovered from his injuries, he would still be teaching the disciples and elders at least once a month according to what Xuan Hao had told them. Providing an opportunity for the elders and disciples to rapidly improve with the guidance of a senior in the Earth Immortal Realm.

After all, even if Xuan Hao had the ability to help out the disciples and elders of the sect when it came to the Domain Lord Realm, he didn't really have any ability to help them beyond the Domain Lord Realm, as he himself could still be considered to be in the Domain Lord Realm to some degree.

Not only that, but there was also the fact that he didn't spend a lot of his time teaching the rest of the sect's disciples and elders. Instead, using most of his time on his own disciples or trying to deepen his understanding of the different Daos that he had comprehended.

It was also with this in mind that Xuan Hao had ended up contacting Feng Chen and Elder Song about the matter and get their opinion on whether or not they should take in Pei Yang.

During this conversation, he also informed them both that his own strength had surpassed the Soul Ascension Realm and reached the Earth Immortal Realm, while also making sure they understood just how strong the Blue Sea Empire was.

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In the end, even with all of this, the two of them had decided that it would be fine to take in Pei Yang. Not so much because they were confident in the Star Shattering Sect becoming powerful enough to face off against the Blue Sea Empire in a few years, but because the location of the Star Shattering Sect was far away from the Blue Sea Empire. Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

Even if they thought Pei Yang might try to hide somewhere to recover, they would undoubtedly think it would be somewhere in the core region of the continent where the qi between heaven and earth was denser and recovery would take a shorter time.

According to Elder Song, there was a higher chance that the Blue Sea Empire would believe Pei Yang to have hidden away somewhere in the core of the continent where the Blue Sea Empire's enemies were located, than find somewhere at the edges of the continent where the qi between heaven and earth was less dense to recover.

Other than all of this, there was also the Frozen Wasteland right next to the Star Shattering Sect, a place that seemed to become more and more dangerous with each passing day.

Although the Frozen Wasteland didn't seem to contain any demonic cultivators above the Soul Ascension Realm on the surface, it had to be known that the Frozen Wasteland was the main location on the continent for demonic cultivators to gather.

Even if there wasn't any information available to Elder Song and Feng Chen about the presence of demonic cultivators in the Earth Immortal Realm, it was not hard to believe that demonic cultivators that powerful existed in the depths of the Frozen Wasteland.

After all, there had to be something in the Frozen Wasteland that made the different powerful forces in the core of the continent, like the Blue Sea Empire hesitant about entering the Frozen Wasteland to get rid of the demonic cultivators.

"Haaa… I hope everything ends up going well…" Whispering this to himself as he glanced over at Elder Song who seemed lost in his own thoughts, likely trying to think of ways to best take advantage of Pei Yang who would be joining the sect soon, Feng Chen got up and left the room to inform the rest of the sect's important elders about Pei Yang.

Considering that he was the sect master he needed to do at least this much. Not to mention, he felt excited when thinking about the fact that Xuan Hao had reached the Earth Immortal Realm. Officially allowing the Star Shattering Sect to far surpass the Sky Empire and other surrounding empires who only had Soul Ascension Realm Experts.

At the same time, it also made him lament at how weak the Star Shattering Sect was. Even if the strength of the sect had improved a lot over the years, most of the elders were still in the Nascent Soul Realm, while most of the disciples were between the Foundation Establishment Realm and the Core Formation Realm. Far from being comparable to the Sky Empire or surrounding kingdoms in terms of Domain Lord Realm Experts and above.

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In the back of his mind, Feng Chen hoped that the addition of Pei Yang would finally help the Star Shattering Sect overcome this disadvantage faster. After all, compared to Xuan Hao who mostly taught his own disciples or the younger generation of the sect, Pei Yang would also be teaching the elders of the sect.

Together with the codex on the earlier cultivation realms that Xuan Hao had given to the sect in the past, Pei Yang's arrival in the Star Shattering Sect would be the catalyst for many of the sect's Nascent Soul Realm Elders to break through to the Domain Lord Realm.

…

Shortly after the conversation between Feng Chen, Elder Song and Xuan Hao finished, Feng Chen informed the rest of the sect's important elders about what had happened-

"Master is coming back!?"

And as a result of this, Mui, who happened to be playing with the blue deer together with Song Jia at Shu Yao's place happened to overhear the conversation between Feng Chen and Shu Yao.

"Indeed, your master said he would be heading back to the sect together with Pei Yang and shouldn't take more than a month before he is back. Although he did mention that he had ended up in an unknown empire bordering the Blue Sea Empire. So, it could take a bit longer depending on how far away from the Sky Empire this empire is." Not having tried to conceal anything from Mui or Song Jia given their identities being far above that of a normal disciple, Feng Chen nodded his head in response to Mui's question.

"Haha! Master is finally coming back! Now I can show him just how much I improved over the past few years!" Laughing happily with an overjoyed expression on her face, Mui didn't waste any time as she turned around and rushed back in the direction of Xuan Hao's palace. Not intending to waste time playing around, as she instead began thinking about preparing for her master's return.

As a result of this, her drive for cultivation that had decreased a bit over the years with her master's absence, was reignited. Part of her even began thinking about trying to improve her own strength even further and possibly surpass her worst senior brother, Bai Ning, before her master returned.

After all, compared to her, although Bai Ning's strength did increase a lot compared to two years ago, he had focused far more of his attention towards improving his blacksmithing skills.

In the end, this resulted in Mui beginning to get close to surpassing this senior brother of hers.

However, due to him mainly caring about his blacksmithing and not so much how his cultivation compared to his fellow disciples, Bai Ning continued focusing most of his attention on blacksmithing. Having recently managed to improve his cultivation technique, the Unformed Mantra, to a level where it helped improve his cultivation more through blacksmithing than normal cultivation.

"She sure left fast…" Muttering this to himself as the they all watched Mui leave, Feng Chen just shook his head and continued talking with Shu Yao, while Song Jia resumed playing with the blue deer not too far away.

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Chapter 1135 Neutral Territory

Not aware of the excitement that the news of him returning to the sect had caused for his youngest disciple, Xuan Hao had already begun his journey back towards the Star Shattering Sect together with Pei Yang.

Because of the fact that he had no idea where he was and what empire he had ended up inside of after having followed Pei Yang out of the Blue Sea Empire and the person in question also not having any clue about where they were other than the fact that it was somewhere outside the Blue Sea Empire.

Feeling quite confused over the fact that an old Earth Immortal Realm Expert like Pei Yang, who should be familiar with the core region of the continent, didn't know about where they were, Xuan Hao could only glance at him weirdly.

"Ahm! The reason I don't know about this place is because I spent most of my time in another part of the core region! Just so you know, the core region of the continent is far larger than any other part of the continent and can almost be considered a world on its own!

Outside of those who have lived for hundreds of thousands of years, I doubt there are many Earth Immortal Realm Experts familiar with most of the core region. Even I, who have spent a good amount of time roaming the core region, still fall short and only have knowledge about a quarter or so of the core region…"

Giving a somewhat awkward cough as he said this, Pei Yang could not help feeling a bit embarrassed when faced with Xuan Hao's weird glance…

"I see…" Not saying anything more than this as he didn't really have any clue about how big the core region of the continent- or the continent itself for that matter was, Xuan Hao began to use his divine sense to try and search their surroundings for any living being who might be able to help them find out where they were at the moment.

"…"

Feel a bit ashamed of the clear sense of disappointment that had been present in Xuan Hao's words, Pei Yang followed what Xuan Hao was doing and also began to use his divine sense to search the surroundings for anything that might help point out where they were located.

Soon enough, the first part of the journey back to the Star Shattering Sect ended up with them using their divine sense to try and find out where they were and what direction the Sky Empire was in.

Luckily as things would have it, they happened to encounter a rather large city that was controlled by a Soul Ascension Realm Expert, who was more than happy to provide them with the information they wanted after a quick convincing.

In the end, they found out that they were currently inside a neutral territory located between the Blue Sea Empire and an equally powerful empire. The neutral territory was compromised of hundreds of small and large city states, each controlled by different powerful experts ranging from the Soul Ascension Realm all the way up to the Earth Immortal Realm. This chapter was first shared on the Ñøvlß1n platform.

For them to reach the Sky Empire, they had to cross through several of these city states and a few smaller empires around the same size as the Sky Empire.

Although the journey should take around a month given that travelling through the use of the Dao of Space was a little harder when carrying Pei Yang, there wasn't any real danger along the way from what they could tell.

The main reason for this was that most of the powerful city states with Earth Immortal Realm Experts were located towards the center of the neutral territory where the Soul Ascension Realm city lord had told them different precious spiritual herbs and other things could be found in abundance.

During the entire journey back to the Sky Empire, the strongest power that they would have to pass through was a kingdom far smaller than the Sky Empire that happened to share a border with one of the empires currently in the process of invading the Sky Empire.

From the information that the Soul Ascension Realm city lord had told them, the ancestor of the small kingdom was in the Earth Immortal Realm. The only reason why a kingdom with such a powerful ancestor didn't decide to expand and become a powerful empire was due to the fact that the ancestor of the kingdom didn't care about expanding the kingdom and instead preferred to quietly cultivate on his own.

As a result of this, the second strongest person in the kingdom had only just barely managed to reach the First Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm with there being no other Soul Ascension Realm Experts present in the kingdom.

"Well, it looks like we should be able to reach the Star Shattering Sect without any issues."

"Indeed…"

Having learnt everything, they could about their surroundings from the Soul Ascension Realm city lord, Xuan Hao soon picked up Pei Yang with his dao domain, as both of them began making their way in the direction of the Sky Empire.

Considering the fact that there wouldn't be any real danger involved in the journey back, outside of the small kingdom with the Earth Immortal Realm ancestor, Xuan Hao decided to focus on increasing his speed at the cost of becoming more visible to the different cultivators they flew by.

Although not visible to most Soul Ascension Realm Experts, it had at least become possible for those below the Earth Immortal Realm to notice them from afar.

…

"Hah… Those two finally left…"

As Xuan Hao used his dao domain to leave the city, the city lord who had been intimidated into answering all of their questions over the past few hours let out a sigh of relief while looking in the direction that they had disappeared in.

"But… To think two Earth Immortal Realm Experts appeared in this remote place, they should have come from the Blue Sea Empire- Hm!? Don't tell me… Is the Blue Sea Empire perhaps about to start another war with the Wei Empire!?" Suddenly realizing the possible implication behind the sudden appearance of two Earth Immortal Realm Experts from the Blue Sea Empire, the city lord could not help feeling a shiver run down his spine as he recalled the last war between the Blue Sea Empire and the Wei Empire.

In the past, when the two large empires had been at war, the large neutral territory connecting the two large empires had been part of the two empires and a place where they bordered each other.

Back then, the war got so devastating that it was widely rumored existences above the Earth Immortal Realm joined in on the battle, causing what had once been a prosperous part of the two massive empires to turn into a hellscape that then ended up becoming neutral territory due to interference of some other forces in the core region who didn't want to see the two empires fighting with each other.

Although all of this had happened tens of thousands of years ago at this point in time, some of the scars left behind by the experts above the Earth Immortal Realm could still be seen at the central part of the neutral territory where these experts had clashed with each other in the past.

It was because he knew about this past, that the city lord began panicking after seeing Xuan Hao and Pei Yang who had come from the Blue Sea Empire.

But… In the end, this was not enough to make him feel so fearful, the main thing that made him believe that the two empires might be clashing again in the soon to be future was the fact that another group consisting of two Earth Immortal Realm Experts from the Wei Empire had appeared in the neutral territory a few weeks earlier.

Even worse, the questions they had asked was almost the exact same as what Xuan Hao and Pei Yang had asked him.

The main difference was that after getting the information they wanted, the two Earth Immortals from the Wei Empire had started to visit all of the powerful city states in the neutral territory. Openly examining the strength of these city states on the premise of asking a few questions.

If the two Earth Immortal Realm Experts, who had come from the Blue Sea Empire, did the same, it was almost certain that both the Blue Sea Empire and the Wei Empire were preparing to take over the neutral territory. Nothing short of a calamity for the different city states who had been able to enjoy their independence and ability to get their hands on some of the different resources that would normally be under the control of larger powers like it had been in the past…

No! I can't just sit around doing nothing! I have to prepare myself for the worst!

With all of this in mind, the Soul Ascension Realm city lord quickly contacted his friends before starting to pack up his things in preparation for running away…

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Chapter 1136 Ancestor of a Small Kingdom

As panic began to set in across the neutral territory after the Soul Ascension Realm city lord informed his friends and they in turn spread the news to their friends, Xuan Hao and Pei Yang travelled for a few weeks before arriving at the border to the small kingdom with the Earth Immortal Realm ancestor.

Although they could go around the kingdom and avoid possibly offending the ancestor of the small kingdom, doing so would add another few months to their journey, as they would be forced to pass through some dangerous regions that could even pose a threat to someone in the Earth Immortal Realm.

With this in mind, it was far more preferable to go through the small kingdom where they only had a small chance of running into the Earth Immortal Realm ancestor. Not to mention, even if they ended up running into the Earth Immortal Realm ancestor, they had no prior relationship with him and didn't have any reason to fight even if they ran into each other.

Even if the ancestor in the Earth Immortal Realm wanted to fight with them, they both doubted that he would do so inside his own kingdom. After all, the damage caused by a fight between two Earth Immortal Realm cultivators would be more than enough to level the small space that the kingdom occupied.

Whoosh~! Because of all that, Xuan Hao didn't stop at the border of the small kingdom and continued into the kingdom. Moving in the direction of the Sky Empire.

If everything went well, it shouldn't take more than an hour to pass through the small kingdom and reach one of the empires bordering the Sky Empire. At that point in time, they would only be a few days away from reaching the Star Shattering Sect and there wouldn't really be anything for them to worry about outside of some forbidden regions along the way.

…

At the same time Xuan Hao and Pei Yang crossed over the border of the small kingdom, a man looking no more than thirty years old opened his eyes inside the kingdom's ancestral temple before turning to look in direction where Xuan Hao and Pei Yang were, a hint of surprise flashing through his eyes.

"Two people in the Earth Immortal Realm, one gravely wounded unable to utilize his strength while the other- Huh? That's weird… I sense the presence of his Dao Lotus, but it feels different. Maybe he is a practitioner of an ancient art? As far as I know, only those people proficient in ancient arts would have such a strange Dao Lotus…" Muttering this to himself as he focused his full attention on Xuan Hao, ignoring Pei Yang, the man slowly got up.

"Considering the fact that he might have come into possession of an ancient art, he should have stumbled upon one of those sects. Maybe I should try and capture him and see if I can- The Dao of Space?!"

Just as the man was considering whether or not to capture Xuan Hao to try and interrogate him in an attempt to learn about the place behind the strangeness of his Dao Lotus, he suddenly noticed Xuan Hao using the Dao of Space while travelling through the kingdom. Not just that, but he quickly realized that his comprehension of the Dao of Space had at least reached the Large Success Realm.

"How troublesome, capturing someone proficient in the Dao of Space without adequate preparations is close to impossible. Even if I'm stronger, I won't be able to stop him from escaping if he wants. Even then, I can't give up the chance to learn about those sects, they might hold the opportunity I need to reach the Celestial Immortal Realm!" Giving up on capturing Xuan Hao, the man instead decided to try a more peaceful method…

Riiiip~! With this in mind, the man instantly tore apart the space in front of himself as he stepped forward. Instantly disappearing from the empty hall. Displaying his own mastery over the Dao of Space in the process. Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

…

"Hm?" Almost instantly noticing someone approaching due to his comprehension of the Dao of Space, Xuan Hao came to a stop as he looked towards the direction where he had felt the disturbance while Pei Yang could only look on with a confused expression on his face.

Although everyone would gain the ability to manipulate space to some extent upon reaching a high enough cultivation realm, it was nothing when compared to someone who had comprehended the Dao of Space.

It was also because of this, that catching someone in the Dao of Space without proper preparations or far superior strength was close to impossible, something that also seemed to be the case for the Earth Immortal Realm from what Xuan Hao had learnt about the realm so far.

"Is something-"

Riiiip~!

Just as Pei Yang was about to ask about what caused them to stop all of a sudden, the space a few hundred meters in front of them was torn open to reveal a small passage that soon collapsed as a young man around thirty stepped through it.

"The Earth Immortal Realm ancestor…"

Even without the man saying anything, it did not take a genius to figure out that the man standing in front of them was the ancestor of the small kingdom that they had hoped to avoid if possible. On the other hand, the more pressing matter was the fact that the strength displayed by the man was in no way inferior to the general of the East Sea Army. An Earth Immortal in the Half Bloom Stage that has mastered the Dao of Space…!

Thinking this to himself as he looked at the man who had appeared in front of them, Xuan Hao could not help frowning as he prepared himself to run away the moment the other party showed any signs of hostility.

Even if the man shouldn't have reached the Large Success Realm in the Dao of Space, his strength being at the Half Bloom Stage still meant that he might have other ways to stop him from escaping.

More important than all of this, the information that the city lord had provided them with only said that the ancestor was around the earlier stages of the Earth Immortal Realm. Nowhere near the Peak of the Earth Immortal Realm like the person currently standing in front of them.

The only reason why he and Pei Yang didn't mistake the man for one of the Blue Sea Empire's experts that had come chasing after Pei Yang was due to the fact that the man in front of them was wearing a long luxurious robe with the small kingdoms symbol engraved into it.

If not for that, Xuan Hao wouldn't even have bothered waiting for the other party to speak and would have directly turned around and escaped back in the direction of the neutral territories. Hoping to use the place to shake off the Blue Sea Empire without them learning about the fact that he was from the Sky Empire nor how he was connected to the Star Shattering Sect.

"Might I ask what reason this senior is here? We just happened to pass through this kingdom on our way to find a place for my friend here to recover." Cautiously asking this after thinking things through, Xuan Hao narrowed both of his eyes as he didn't dare to let the man in front of him out of sight for even a second.

Considering the fact that they hadn't done anything to the kingdom and did indeed just happen to pass through on their way to the Star Shattering Sect, Xuan Hao felt that the ancestor of the small kingdom shouldn't make things too difficult for them and would at most ask for a little something from them.

"Don't worry, I'm not here with ill intentions, I just noticed both of you passing through my kingdom without permission and came here. Given that I don't get out much, I was hoping to get some information about a place I have been searching for from seasoned wanderers like both of you. Don't worry, if you don't know about the place I'm searching for, I won't make things difficult for you."

"Information? I wonder what place senior is talking about. If you could give me a description of the place, I might be able to help you." Hearing that he only wanted information from them, Xuan Hao could not help letting out a sigh of relief as he said this.

Although he might not know a lot about the core region of the continent, Pei Yang was a seasoned wanderer and knew about a lot of different places.

"Great, the place I'm searching for is a mystic realm that was once controlled by an ancient sect called the Mirage Sect, I wonder if any of you know about it?"

"…"

Never mind… It would be much better if he just asked them for a few spiritual herbs and spirit stones!

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Chapter 1137 Abruptly Leaving

"Hm? Have you perhaps heard about the mystic realm?" Noticing the slight change in Xuan Hao's expression after he mentioned the mystic realm and the Mirage Sect, the man could not help feeling a sense of excitement welling up inside as he asked this.

Even if he believed Xuan Hao might know about the place that he had been searching for, he didn't really expect him to know about it. After all, the mystic realm had eluded him for countless years and was the main reason why he was willing to remain inside the small kingdom that had helped him grow in his earlier years instead of heading for the core region of the continent where there were more opportunities for him to grow.

Of course, the main reason why he was willing to stay and search for the mystic realm was because he had once obtained a bundle of ancient records that originated from the mystic realm during his youth. The ancient records not only contained information on the mystic realm, but also a profound cultivation method that allowed him to reach the Earth Immortal Realm. Surpassing the Domain Lord Realm Expert who had been the strongest in his family before him, while at the same time also allowing the small kingdom to gain independence from any of the surrounding empires.

…

Unaware of the thoughts going through the head of the man in front of him, Xuan Hao could not help frowning to himself after hearing the question. Unaware of the thoughts going through the head of the man in front of him, Xuan Hao could not help frowning to himself after hearing the question. He did indeed know about the mystic realm under the Mirage Sect and had been there before, but… He didn't want to share the location to the mystic realm, as he already intended to integrate it into the Star Shattering Sect in the future. Either having it become a training ground for the younger disciple or the future main location of the sect after he became strong enough to control the mystic realm like the Mirage Sect had done in the past.

Even if all of this was far off in the future, he didn't want to give away any of the opportunities that might be present in the mystic realm to outsiders not part of the Star Shattering Sect. Not to mention, if information of the mystic realm leaked to the larger powers on the continent, like the Blue Sea Empire and the Heavenly Dragon Temple, it would undoubtedly cause a large number of people to show up and try to cease control of the mystic realm.

With all of this in mind, Xuan Hao had no plans of divulging the location of the mystic realm to the man in front of them, as the risk posed to the Star Shattering Sect would be far too big. Especially when considering that most of the openings to the mystic realm were located inside branch sects or right next to them. For example, the entrance to the mystic realm located at the Flying Sword Sect was close enough to the Shattered Star Peaks, that a battle between Peak Domain Lord Realm Experts would end up affecting the city beneath the Ninth Star Peak and in turn the main sect… And that was not considering the fact that some of the powerful experts trying to enter the mystic realm might grow interested in the Shattered Star Peaks and try to force their way through the chaotic qi formation.

All of this was not even mentioning what kind of reaction these powerful experts might have after realizing that the path into the mystic realm was blocked by a formation preventing anyone above the Nascent Soul Realm from entering.

Just thinking about it was enough to give Xuan Hao a headache, as he could already imagine how the Star Shattering Sect's territory might end up being erased from the continent when the more powerful experts attempted to break the formation…

However, even if he wanted to pretend, he didn't know anything about the mystic realm, he understood that the man in front of him had already noticed his reaction when the mystic realm was mentioned and wouldn't allow him to try and brush the matter aside.

"I did indeed learn a bit about the mystic realm you mentioned…" For this reason, Xuan Hao decided to nod his head in response to the man's question before saying this.

"Great! Do you have any idea where the mystic realm is located? From what I managed to gather with my own research, it should be located somewhere close to this kingdom of mine. Although, even after using my divine sense to thoroughly search the surrounding empires, I never managed to find any sign of an entrance to the mystic realm…"

Showing an even more excited expression after hearing Xuan Hao's confirmation, the ancestor of the small kingdom almost looked like he was about to jump over, and grab hold of him to shake out the information.

Whoosh~

Of course, Xuan Hao didn't intend to let the man get any closer, as he decided to move backwards to keep the distance between them.

Even if their conversation so far had been rather peaceful and the ancestor of the small kingdom didn't show any signs of hostility, he didn't intend to take any chances with someone in the Half Bloom Stage of the Earth Immortal Realm.

If the distance between them became too small, the other party might be able to force him into defending himself before he could use the Dao of Space to escape…

"Ah… Sorry, I just got a little excited after hearing your answer…" Smiling a bit awkwardly as he noticed Xuan Hao rapidly retreat a little over a thousand meters after he barely took half a step forward in his excitement earlier, the ancestor of the small kingdom could only apologize in an attempt to appease Xuan Hao before he ended up running away.

No matter what, the ancestor of the small kingdom had no intention of allowing something like this to happen after finally getting some clues about the mystic realm that he had been searching for over the past thousands of years.

"No problem, as for your question about the location of the mystic realm, I'm not really clear about the exact location as I haven't personally explored it before and only happened to read about it in some ancient scrolls from the ruins of an ancient sect.

From what I learnt, the entrance to the mystic realm should be located somewhere inside the Frozen Wasteland where the demonic cultivators reside. Although I have no idea about the accuracy of the location, as I never dared to venture too far into the Frozen Wasteland. Especially now that the overall situation inside the Frozen Wasteland has become more chaotic over the past few years."

Knowing that there was no way that he could easily convince the ancestor in front of him by just giving a random location nearby, Xuan Hao decided to try and make the Frozen Wasteland the location of the entrance to the mystic realm. Hoping that it would be dangerous enough for the ancestor of the small kingdom to give up on trying to find the entrance to the mystic realm and in case he did try to find it, he would not easily suspect him and might end up believing that the entrance to the mystic realm is located deeper inside the Frozen Wasteland where the more dangerous demonic cultivators reside.

"The Frozen Wasteland… Indeed, why did I never think of that place!? No wonder I haven't been able to discover the entrance to the mystic realm, the deeper parts of that place is deadly even to those in the Celestial Immortal Realm and I never even thought about searching it for this reason, but… If the entrance to the mystic realm is really located there, I have to take a look and see if I can find it!" Mumbling this to himself as his expression changed between one filled with excitement and one filled with understanding, the ancestor of the small kingdom didn't bother saying anything to the two of them as he directly turned around and disappeared in the direction of the Frozen Wasteland.

Obviously, what Xuan Hao had told him was more than enough to convince him that the location of the entrance was indeed somewhere in the Frozen Wasteland. Another thing to add to the claim of the entrance to mystic realm being there was the fact that the old ancestor had already spent thousands of years searching through the surroundings for any sign of an entrance to the mystic realm without finding anything.

The only place nearby he hadn't searched was the Frozen Wasteland and when Xuan Hao mentioned it to him, he didn't doubt his words in the slightest, as he felt that it made sense for the entrance to be in the only location he hadn't searched through yet.

"Let's get going…" The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.

Not knowing what else to say following the disappearance of the old ancestor of the small kingdom, Xuan Hao could only smile wryly before picking Pei Yang up with his domain to continue their journey back to the Star Shattering Sect.

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Chapter 1138 Pseudo Saint Realm Formation Master...?

Leaving the borders of the small kingdom of the terrifying ancestor at the Half Bloom Stage, Xuan Hao, and Pei Yang both let out a sigh of relief as they found themselves inside one of the empires bordering the Sky Empire.

Although the empire in question was far larger than the small kingdom, the strongest people in the empire had only reached the Soul Ascension Realm and were still far away from the Earth Immortal Realm. Far from being able to pose a threat to Xuan Hao. The only thing they had to worry about during the last bit of their journey back was some of the dangerous places that were rumored to be filled with all sorts of dangers that might threaten the life of someone in the Earth Immortal Realm. However, considering that they had already learnt about these locations from the conversation with the Soul Ascension Realm city lord from the neutral region, it wasn't too difficult to avoid them. At most it would add a few more days to their journey.

Whoosh~

With all of this in mind, Xuan Hao didn't linger around the outskirts of the empire for long before they resumed their journey. Dragging Pei Yang along with him, while Pei Yang closed his eyes and focused his attention on his recovery. Hoping that he would at least be able to recover enough to hold his own as a senior when faced with the people from the Star Shattering Sect.

After all, it would be rather embarrassing for him if he didn't even have the ability to fly on his own when he reached the Star Shattering Sect and had to have Xuan Hao help him get around.

…

"Finally, back…" Seeing the Shattered Star Peaks appearing in the distance after travelling for a few weeks, Xuan Hao could not help smiling to himself as he looked forward to seeing how much his disciples had improved during his time away.

So far, he only managed to learn about Mui breaking through to the Core Formation Realm, outside of that, he didn't really have any idea how much Chu Yang, Qing Yi and Bai Ning had improved, but… Considering how hardworking they were most of the time, they should have improved by a lot compared to two years ago.

The only one worrying him to some extent was Bai Ning, who would spend most of his time focused on improving his blacksmithing if the opportunity presented itself. Neglecting his cultivation in the process.

Maybe Mui managed to surpass him over the past two years…

Thinking this to himself, Xuan Hao could not help chuckling to himself at the image of the now fifteen-year-old Mui defeating Bai Ning with a triumphant smile plastered all over her face. "Is the mountain range over there where your sect is located?"

Just at this moment, Pei Yang who had been floating in the air beside him could not help curiously asking as he observed the Shattered Star Peaks in the distance. Considering that he would be spending most of his time inside the Star Shattering Sect while recovering over the next few years, it was understandable for him to be curious about the place.

"Yes, the main sect of the Star Shattering Sect is located on the Seventh Star Peak- Ah! And before I forget it, the Second Star Peak and Main Star Peak is off limits, the two peaks have already been sealed off by the guardian formation of the sect." Nodding his head as he said this, Xuan Hao didn't forget to remind him that the Second Star Peak and the Main Star Peak was off limits.

Even if Pei Yang would become part of the sect in the future, he didn't fully trust him and had no intention of telling him about the things on the Main Star Peak and the Second Star Peak.

Just the divine energy in the rocks on the Second Star Peak would be enough to cause a bloody battle among the different religions who would want to seize it and convert it into their gods divine power, while the things on the Main Star Peak would attract both the different religions and powerful cultivators at the same time.

No matter how much he trusted Pei Yang or the rest of the Star Shattering Sect for that matter, he had no plans of divulging anything about the things on the Second and Main Star Peak. At least, with his identity as the strongest person in the Star Shattering Sect, he had more than enough power to prevent anyone from going to the Second and Main Star Peak.

The only one who had some idea about the things on those two peaks was the blue deer, who hadn't developed the ability to properly communicate yet…

"I understand, I will make sure to keep out of those two mountains." Not feeling that it was odd for the Star Shattering Sect to have some forbidden locations as most powers would have places like that where the most precious treasures, cultivation techniques and important cultivation locations were located, Pei Yang just nodded his head in understanding. Not feeling that curious about the two tallest mountains, something that was bound to change after he found out that only Xuan Hao ever visited the two mountains.

"Good, let's get going then. First, we will visit the city at the base of the Ninth Star Peak for you to get a better idea about how we interact with the different forces under us. After this, the person in charge of managing the internal situation of the sect will come to guide you to your future abode before showing you around the sect.

Although, if you want to begin recovering your strength immediately, you can always wait before getting shown around until later. The only requirement is that you will do at least one lecture a month for the younger generation or the elders.

Of course, if you want to hold more than a single lecture a month, you are more than welcome to do so, as I think the elders and disciples will happily attend." Smiling as he gave Pei Yang a brief description of what was going to happen and what he would be doing in the future, Xuan Hao used his dao domain to land on the ground a few hundred meters away from the entrance to the city at the base of the Ninth Star Peak. Not bothering to think about how much the city needed some kind of name.

"Hehe, of course." Nodding his head in response, Pei Yang soon made his way inside the city together with Xuan Hao.

… NvεlB¡n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time.

So, this is the city that the Star Shattering Sect uses to communicate with their vassals and the outside world. Although it's rather small, it should still be in the process of expanding. From what Xuan Hao said, the Star Shattering Sect only moved to the Shattered Star Peaks a few years ago and is still in the process of settling in.

Walking through the city at the base of the Ninth Star Peak, Pei Yang could not help thinking this to himself as he observed the bustling city walking alongside Xuan Hao.

Although the city could be considered impressive in the Sky Empire, in the eyes of a senior like Pei Yang who had explored the core region of the continent for a long time, it was just a small city.

The strength of the disciples and elders walking around was even less worth mentioning, as they were at most between the Foundation Establishment Realm and the Nascent Soul Realm.

All things considered, the only thing that caught Pei Yang's interest inside the city was the fact that most people living in the city were related to the Star Shattering Sect in some way. Most of the mortals walking on the street being the close family members of the disciples of the sect, something he hadn't expected considering most other sects he had encountered practiced a more traditional doctrine that involved cutting off the mortal world after stepping on to the path of cultivation.

Compared to those sects, Pei Yang apricated the Star Shattering Sect's way of doing things far more. Even if the family members of the disciples were still mortals and would inevitably pass away with the passage of time, the Star Shattering Sect at least helped provide for them and gave the disciples a chance to send off their parents.

"Hm? This is-!?"

Lost in his own thoughts as he followed Xuan Hao along the path leading up the Ninth Star Peak, Pei Yang suddenly froze on the spot as he felt a terrifying aura enveloping his entire body. Even if it was only for a brief moment, he clearly felt a power beyond the Earth Immortal Realm locking on to him!

"Don't worry, we just passed through the guardian formation."

Guardian formation!? Does the Star Shattering Sect perhaps have a formation master in the Late Stage of the Pseudo Saint Realm!?

Filled with amazement at the terrifying guardian formation, Pei Yang didn't even notice the change in qi between heaven and earth as he just followed behind Xuan Hao with a look of disbelief plastered all over his face.

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Chapter 1139 Shocked Pei Yang

Huh? This is-!?

Only after crossing the spiritual herb fields on top of the Ninth Star Peak did Pei Yang calm down enough to notice the qi between heaven and earth.

"To think the qi in here is so dense… Even when I visited the capital city of the Blue Sea Empire in the past, it was nowhere near as dense as this. Maybe only the place where those Celestial Immortals cultivate can compare to this…" Unconsciously muttering this to himself with a sense of awe present on his face, Pei Yang became even more certain than before that the Star Shattering Sect had a Pseudo Saint Realm Formation Master.

In his eyes, this was the only thing that could describe the terrifying guardian formation and the qi gathering formation that should be covering the Shattered Star Peaks.

The only problem was that he had no clue how the Star Shattering Sect had managed to get their hands on a Pseudo Saint Realm Formation Master. After all, the ones who could reach the Pseudo Saint Realm in their profession were highly sought after by the different powers in the core region, there would be no reason for them to settle down in a sect like the Star Shattering Sect that was located in outer edges of the continent right next to the Frozen Wastelands.

Not to mention, the formation master who had set up the formations of the Star Shattering Sect was not just a Pseudo Saint Realm Formation Master, but one that had reached the Late Stage of the Pseudo Saint Realm!

In the eyes of the cultivation world, an existence like that was rarer than that of a Celestial Immortal and only a few existed across the entire continent. Most of them having been absorbed by the larger powers at the core of the continent while a few eccentric ones wandered the continent searching for an opportunity to breakthrough to the Saint Realm, a realm that nobody had managed to reach since ancient times.

"Huh!?"

However, his shock didn't end there, as he soon spotted a few of the elders from the half spirit race on their way to the spiritual herb fields.

Considering the fact that the current continent was dominated by humans, Pei Yang had never seen any intelligent races outside of the human race and some of the stronger demon beasts he had encountered during his travels across the continent.

For this reason, he could only freeze on the spot with a face of disbelief as he watched the elders from the half spirit race walk past them. Not knowing how to react upon suddenly encountering someone from a race, he had only heard vague tales about in tales describing the past.

Not to mention, the different large powers on the continent had clearly issued an order that any of these races were to be killed on the spot if found, as they posed an existential threat to the humans on the continent.

"They're from the half spirit race, they are part of the Star Shattering Sect, you don't have to worry about them, they are harmless and not too different compared to humans. Outside of the fact that their size is a bit smaller." Noticing the different emotions flashing past Pei Yang's face, Xuan Hao decided to reassure him that the people from the half spirit race were harmless and didn't mean any harm. NvεlB¡n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales.

"I see… Sorry for my behavior, I just haven't seen anyone from these races before and only heard about them through some ancient tales and the different large powers who want to kill them. Although… I never really understood why those powers want to kill them so much, as they don't seem to be anywhere near strong enough to pose a threat to the continent…"

"That's understandable, the half spirit race is a race born from the union of a spirit and human, so they can be considered to be human to some extent. As for the opinion of the different large powers who want to kill races like the half spirit race, I don't know… Maybe they are afraid that the human race will lose their spot on the top of the continent…" Shaking his head as he said this, Xuan Hao could not help wondering why the different large powers were intent on killing off the different races like the half spirit race.

In the end, the only thing he could think of was the ancient war that had taken place in the past. Perhaps back then these races had allied with the ice phoenix and thus ended up being labeled as enemies by the powers who had managed to survive that war.

"Born from the union of a spirit and a human… How in the world would something like that happen? Isn't it stated that spirits don't have a physical body…?" At the same time Xuan Hao was lost in thought wondering about why the different races from the past had been labeled as enemies of the human race by the larger powers at the core of the continent, Pei Yang was left wondering about something completely different.

…

Making their way to the Seventh Star Peak while both thinking about two completely different things, Xuan Hao, and Pei Yang directly towards Elder Song's courtyard.

"Xuan Hao! And this must be... Senior Pei?"

Having already been contacted by Xuan Hao the moment the two arrived at the Seventh Star Peak, Elder Song was already waiting for them on the path leading up to the entrance of his courtyard.

Even without him saying more than a few words, it was still obvious how excited he was to see Pei Yang. The reason for this being that there was no one more excited about a new powerful elder than him, who was already looking forward to seeing how much the disciples would improve with the guidance of a powerful Earth Immortal.

"Elder Song, I will be leaving him in your care."

Whoosh~!

Leaving with these few words, Xuan Hao made his way back towards his palace where his disciples were probably eagerly waiting for his return.

"Greetings, Elder Song, I heard a lot about you from Xuan Hao along the way."

"Haha, how humble of you to call this old man elder even though I'm barely at the Nascent Soul Realm. Follow me and I will show you where you will be living from now on." Chuckling happily upon hearing Pei Yang refer to him as an elder, Elder Song wasted no time as he began leading Pei Yang in the direction of his future home in the Star Shattering Sect.

"…"

During the entire process, Pei Yang had no idea how to respond to the enthusiastic Elder Song, as he found himself being dragged away from the entrance to the courtyard by him.

The reason why he had called him Elder Song was not because he was trying to be humble and respectful towards him, but because he had never heard Xuan Hao refer to him as anything other than Elder Song. In the end, it caused him to just use it like a normal name. In the end, it resulted in Elder Song thinking that he was being humble and respectful.

All things considered, he didn't try and correct himself after seeing how happy Elder Song was. Even though he had never met Elder Song before, from what Xuan Hao had told him, he could not help feeling a sense of admiration towards the happy old man leading him towards his future home in the Star Shattering Sect.

Not so much because of his strength, but because of how he had been able to climb to his current position in the sect while only being in the earlier stages of the Nascent Soul Realm. Even reaching a point where he overshadowed the sect master to some extent.

I hope I will be able to recover safely without anyone from the Blue Sea Empire appearing. At least I don't want to bring trouble to the sect of my benefactor…

With these thoughts in mind, Pei Yang soon found himself exploring his new home together with Elder Song before being dragged away by him a few minutes later to explore the different facilities of the sect.

From the Combat Hall to the Grand Mission Pavilion and the Grand Library, Pei Yang found himself becoming more and more shocked with every place he visited in the Star Shattering Sect. Reaching the point where he began wondering if the Star Shattering Sect was really just a new sect that had been recently established or some ancient sect that had decided to reveal itself to the world.

The only thing that kept him from believing the last part was the fact that the strongest people in the Star Shattering Sect outside of Xuan Hao had only reached the Domain Lord Realm. If not for this, he would have almost certainly believed that the Star Shattering Sect was an ancient sect that had just recently surfaced.

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Chapter 1140 Reunion, Emergency Quest

Leaving Pei Yang in the care of Elder Song, Xuan Hao made his way back to his palace for the first time in over two years. Feeling excited at finding out just how much his disciples had managed to improve during this time. Having deliberately not used his divine sense to check their cultivation beforehand.

For this reason, Xuan Hao could not help showing a surprised expression upon seeing Mui at training in the small training ground attached to the palace.

"Sixth Stage of the Core Formation Realm…"

Although he had already learnt about her reaching the Core Formation Realm through the system, he had never expected her to reach the Sixth Stage of the Core Formation Realm in such a short period of time. Even when compared to Chu Yang and Qing Yi back then, she was far faster than them. Managing to reach the Sixth Stage in a single year after breaking through to the Core Formation Realm.

Not only that, but her current age was only around 15. Making her the youngest Core Formation Realm Expert in the Star Shattering Sect, even looking to outdo him in becoming the youngest person in the Star Shattering Sect to reach the Nascent Soul Realm.

Considering the fact that he had been 21 when he broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm and she was already close to entering the later stages of the Core Formation Realm at the age of 15, it was almost inevitable that she would break this record…

"Hm? How come her appearance didn't change?" Outside of the fact that Mui had managed to increase her strength all the way to the Sixth Stage of the Core Formation Realm during his two years away from the sect, Xuan Hao also noticed that her appearance hadn't changed in the slightest during the time he had been gone.

From head to toe, Mui still looked like a kid between the ages of 10 and 12, something that should have been impossible considering 2 years had passed since he had seen her, and she was still at the age of growing rapidly. NvεlB¡n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales.

"Master!"

As Xuan Hao was lost in thought wondering why Mui had the same appearance as when he had left the sect, the person in question seemed to discover him out of the corner of her eye. Wasting no time as she stopped what she was doing before rushing towards him at a speed easily comparable to that of a Peak Core Formation Realm Expert.

Thump~!

Not a second later, Mui crashed headfirst into him before turning to look up at him with an excited smile plastered all over her small face. "Master, I broke through the Core Formation Realm. Even senior brother Bai Ning isn't a match for me! Not only that, but my blacksmithing skills also improved a lot, look at this, and this, I made this one specifically for you master and…"

As Mui began talking about everything, she had gone through over the past two years and how much she had improved, she also began taking out all sorts of weirdly shaped chunks of melted metal. Even going as far as to present the shiniest among the metal chunks to him with a proud expression on her face.

"Thank you… It's great to see how much you improved, Mui, you have done great over the past two years." Deciding not to think about how much of the sect's spiritual metal had been wasted on his little disciple's creations, Xuan Hao decided to gently pat her small head while praising her wholeheartedly.

"Hehe~"

Smiling happily as she enjoyed the feeling of being patted on the head by her master, Mui felt that all the effort she had put into improving her strength over the years was worth it.

"Huh? Master is back!?" However, just as Mui was blissfully enjoying the head pats of her master, the sound of her senior sister echoed out from the entrance to the palace, causing the head pats to stop.

Senior sister!

Turning to the person who had caused her master to cease the head pats, Mui could not help frowning as both of her eyes narrowed dangerously. Momentarily causing Qing Yi to freeze up on the stop as she felt a chill run down her spine.

"Huh? What was that just now…" However, before Qing Yi had a chance to pinpoint where the scary feeling came from, Mui returned to her usual self.

"…"

Having seen a new side to his youngest disciple, Xuan Hao decided not to say anything and instead used the opportunity to examine his first disciple's progress over the past two years.

Hm… Peak of the Fifth Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, she should be able to breakthrough to the Sixth Stage in a few weeks. Not just that, but her soul also seems to be a lot stronger than a normal Peak Fifth Stage Nascent Soul Realm cultivator. Did she manage to breakthrough to the Artisan Realm!?

Narrowing both of his eyes upon noticing how strong her soul was, Xuan Hao could not help wondering if she had managed to break through to the Artisan Realm in alchemy. Considering that she had already been close to the peak of the Expert Realm, it was indeed possible she had broken through over the past two years…

"Qing Yi, did you manage to break through to the Artisan Realm?" Not wanting to just guess on his own, Xuan Hao decided to ask the still confused Qing Yi who had yet to fully recover from his youngest disciple's earlier stare.

"Huh? Master- Ah! Yes, I managed to experience a sudden enlightenment a few days earlier and used the opportunity to break through to the Artisan Realm. Hehe, I'm officially an Artisan Realm Alchemist now!" Recovering quickly following her master's question, Qing Yi answered honestly, while feeling surprised at how her master had managed to realize that she had become an Artisan Realm Alchemist.

After all, different from breaking through a cultivation realm, it should be impossible to tell what realm someone was in when it came to their profession.

However, her master had somehow been able to notice it. Making her admiration for her master soar to a new height. Especially considering that she hadn't told anyone about reaching the Artisan Realm yet.

"That's great, you can now be considered one of the sect's top alchemists. Not only that, but I also see that you haven't slacked off in terms of cultivation over the past two years." Not knowing about the thoughts going through his disciple's head, Xuan Hao praised her the same way he did Mui, excluding the head pats.

At the same time, deep inside, Xuan Hao realized that he soon wouldn't be able to ignore improving his professions any longer.

Other than Bai Ning whose blacksmithing realm was the same as his, Qing Yi had also managed to catch up with him.

Wait… Bai Ning's blacksmithing realm was already comparable to mine two years ago… Did he perhaps surpass me during these two years and break through to become an Artisan Realm Blacksmith-

Whoosh~!

Not even a second after he thought about Bai Ning having possibly surpassed him, a new quest popped up in front of him.

[Emergency Quest: Don't let the disciple surpass the master!]

[Description: During your absence from the sect, one of your disciples did the impossible and surpassed the master before he grew up. No matter what, it's unacceptable for the master to be inferior to the disciple and incapable of providing guidance. Ensure that you are capable of providing guidance to your disciple. Don't let him lose faith in his master and begin to doubt your strength!]

[Objective: Reach the Pseudo Saint Realm in Blacksmithing]

[Timer: 3 Months]

[Penalty: Cultivation base will be sealed for 5 years]

What in the world is this… Pseudo Saint Relam!? I just learnt about the existence of the Pseudo Saint Realm, how in the world am I supposed to reach the Pseudo Saint Realm in Blacksmithing in three months' time!? And my cultivation base will be sealed for 5 years if I fail, does the system suddenly want to kill me!?

Not knowing what to say after seeing the emergency quest issued by the system, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a shiver run down when he saw the penalty for failing to complete the quest. From the time he had gotten the system, this was the first time he had seen a penalty being issued instead of a reward. Showing just how seriously the system took the matter of Bai Ning surpassing him in terms of blacksmithing.

This is unreasonable, I should at-

[Reminder: It's recommended that the host does not allow disciples to surpass you in any aspect. Please keep in mind that failure to do so will result in emergency quests.]

"…"

Not even giving him a chance to complain, a new window from the system appeared in front of him.

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Chapter 1141 Pseudo Domain!?

"Master? Is something wrong?"

"Huh? Ah, it's nothing, I was just thinking about how much you two managed to improve over the past two years." Hearing Qing Yi suddenly calling out to him with a worried expression on her face, Xuan Hao quickly reassured her as turned his attention away from the emergency quest and back towards his disciples.

Even though he only had three months to somehow reach the Pseudo Saint Realm in blacksmithing, he at least wanted to check up on his disciples before starting to worry about it.

At least Qing Yi and Mui didn't realize anything had happened as both of them just smiled happily after being praised before Xuan Hao checked their cultivation more in depth by examining their dantian and guided them on where they were lacking and could improve before trying to further increase their strength. Boom-!

In the end, Qing Yi managed to successfully cross the small gap between the Fifth Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm and the Sixth Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. Officially breaking through to the Sixth Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm with his help and reaching the final minor realm before what could be considered the Late Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm.

""Master!""

At the same time Qing Yi returned to her room to stabilize her cultivation base after having broken through to the Sixth Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm, Chu Yang and Bai Ning arrived at the entrance to the palace after having learnt about his return to the sect from a few of the elders who had seen him together with Pei Yang earlier in the day.

Huh? This is…

Upon seeing the two walking over, Xuan Hao could not help feeling a profound sense of shock.

Even from a distance it was clear that Chu Yang had already managed to enter the later stages of the Nascent Soul Realm over the past two years. Having successfully managed to break through to the Eighth Stage of the Nascent Soul Realm. Surpassing many of the sect's elders in the process.

However, the most shocking thing was not how much Chu Yang's strength had increased over the past two years, but the fact that Bai Ning standing beside him had already managed to form a pseudo domain!

Although it was only a pseudo domain and felt different from any domain he had encountered so far, it was still a domain, what's more, the domain itself clearly felt different from any domain he had encountered so far. The normal feeling of power that would come along with a domain was not present and instead, a sensation similar to standing in the middle of a forge engulfed him as he used his divine sense to examine the domain.

This is… a pseudo domain for the Dao of Blacksmithing!?

Thinking this to himself as he continued examining Bai Ning's pseudo domain, Xuan Hao could not help feeling even more shocked than before.

How strong was Bai Ning? He had barely reached the Fifth Stage of the Core Formation Realm, being one minor realm behind Mui, but… He had somehow managed to establish a pseudo domain with such a weak cultivation realm.

Even when he himself had established a pseudo domain, he had been in the Nascent Soul Realm. After all, the pressure on the soul and body from carrying a pseudo domain was not something a Core Formation Realm cultivator should be able to endure, but Bai Ning had somehow managed to do it.

Wait… The power of the pseudo domain is clearly different from my sword domain back then and far weaker than any pseudo domain I have seen… Is there perhaps a difference between normal domains and those related to the different professions?

Narrowing both of his eyes as he thought about this to himself, Bai Ning and Chu Yang walked over and greeted him before Xuan Hao woke back up from his thoughts and praised them like he had done to Qing Yi and Mui. Spending the next few hours helping both of them like he had done with Mui and Qing Yi. Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

During this time, he made sure to ask Bai Ning about his pseudo domain and managed to find out that his little disciple had not just reached the Artisan Realm in blacksmithing but was only a step away from breaking through to the Master Realm. The only thing he needed to do was evolve his pseudo domain into a true domain.

Of course, because he had already learnt from some of the Domain Lord Realm Experts in the sect about the dangers of establishing a true domain and also learnt about how odd it was for him to establish a pseudo domain with his current cultivation realm. In the end, he decided to ask his master for guidance on how to go about it, as he believed that his master had already managed to comprehend the Dao of Blacksmithing and would know what he should do.

"Ehm… For now, you should stabilize the pseudo domain and build a proper foundation for establishing a true domain. After three months, I will help you with the last preparations needed before you can ascend to the Master Realm and become a Master Blacksmith."

Not knowing anything about the Dao of Blacksmithing nor how it was different from a normal domain, Xuan Hao could only come up with some excuses as he decided to postpone the matter until after the emergency quest. After all, when he reached the Pseudo Saint Realm in blacksmithing, he should be more than capable of helping Bai Ning breakthrough to the Master Realm.

"Thank you master! I will make sure I'm prepared!"

Whoosh-!

Having no idea about the thoughts going through his master's head, Bai Ning smiled happily before turning around to rush back in the direction of the Sea of a Thousand Furnaces that he had come from. Feeling excited at the prospect of being able to reach the Master Realm in blacksmithing and becoming the first Master Blacksmith in the sect.

After all, so far, the Star Shattering Sect didn't have a single blacksmith in the Master Realm, of course, excluding his master…

"Master…" Seeing Bai Ning running away, leaving only him and Xuan Hao behind, Chu Yang could not help looking excitedly at his master with a clear battle intent present in his eyes.

"Let's go to the Combat Hall."

Even without him saying anything, it was easy to guess that Chu Yang wanted to fight him and test out his new strength, likely due to the fact that the number of elders who could train with him at this point in time was close to nonexistent and the ones who could were too busy with keeping the sect running most of the time.

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

Not a second later, the master and disciple both left in the direction of the Combat Hall.

…

"That brat really did improve quite a bit; his current strength is already enough to be considered invincible in the Nascent Soul Realm. Now all he needs to do is establish a domain and breakthrough to the Domain Lord Realm…"

After spending an entire day inside the Combat Hall together with Chu Yang, giving him a chance to use all of his combat techniques and helping him improve in the process, Xuan Hao could not help sighing with amazement as he watched Chu Yang in deep meditation digesting what he had learnt.

"Now… It's time for me to find out a way for me to reach the Pseudo Saint Realm in Blacksmithing within the next three months…" Turning his attention away from Chu Yang and leaving him alone to meditate, Xuan Hao frowned slightly as he made his way out of Chu Yang's room and into a small garden located in between the training ground and the palace.

So far, from what he knew about the realms of professions, the only way to reach the Master Realm and improve beyond it was to comprehend the dao of the profession.

If this was not possible it would be impossible to reach the Master Realm, let alone reach the Pseudo Saint Realm.

Given his current realm in blacksmithing only being at the Master Realm, he really had no idea how he would cross over the Master Realm and then the Grandmaster Realm after that before reaching the Pseudo Saint Realm in three months.

Even if he had the help of the system, he doubted that he would be able to comprehend the Dao of Blacksmithing to whatever level was needed for him to reach the Pseudo Saint Realm.

"Maybe I should go and ask Pei Yang, considering his experience, he might have a better idea about the Pseudo Saint Realm and how to reach it…" Muttering this to himself as he felt the difficulty of the task in front of him, Xuan Hao didn't stand around the small garden for long, as he soon jumped into the air and made his way to where Pei Yang was staying.

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Chapter 1142 Hidden Requirment...?

Leaving his palace after thinking things through, Xuan Hao soon arrived in front of a relatively small courtyard located next to the Qi Spring Lake at the center of the Seventh Star Peak. Enjoying the rich spiritual qi that had transformed into a thin mist surrounding the lake.

Although the spiritual qi between heaven and earth was already far above the outside world inside the Shattered Star Peaks due to the chaotic qi formation transforming the chaotic qi into spiritual qi and transferring the spiritual qi into the formation where the Shattered Star Peaks were located, the environment around the Qi Spring Lake was even better due to the qi springs located inside the Qi Spring Lake constantly spewing out spiritual water filled to the brim with pure qi.

In a sense, there wasn't a better location for someone like Pei Yang to recover. Even a powerful force like the Blue Sea Empire might find it difficult to replicate the environment around the Qi Spring Lake without having to waste a large quantity of their resources in the process.

…

Fully absorbed in absorbing the endless qi present around the Qi Spring Lake to repair the damage he had caused when forcibly using several forbidden pills and techniques to forcibly increase his strength, Pei Yang felt overjoyed at his choice to join the Star Shattering Sect back when he had encountered Xuan Hao.

At this point in time, a part of him already felt attached to the Star Shattering Sect. Understanding very well how beneficial it would be to cultivate next to Qi Spring Lake.

After all, even if he didn't need to absorb that much qi and mainly needed to comprehend the dao to increase his strength at the Earth Immortal Realm, the dense qi present around the Qi Spring Lake made the dao easier to sense and comprehend. Allowing him to progress faster in the Earth Immortal Realm compared to the outside world.

The only thing that would make his comprehension increase faster would be if he managed to enter a place where the dao he had comprehended was concentrated, a place similar to the Valley of Illusory Beasts, Sea of Mist, or the Ephemeral Forest.

Of course, places like that were hard to come by and came with all sorts of dangers involved. Especially given that most of the safe places had already been seized by the more powerful forces like the Blue Sea Empire.

With all of this in mind, staying in the Star Shattering Sect was indeed a great option, as the place was safe and also allowed him to progress through the Earth Immortal Realm more easily.

Whoosh~

It was also for this reason that Pei Yang didn't notice Xuan Hao when he landed on the ground a few meters away from him. Remaining fully absorbed in recovering his injuries with the help of the thin mist of qi that drifted off from the Qi Spring Lake before entering his courtyard.

"Pei Yang-"

"Ah!? Senior Xuan!?"

Suddenly jumping up upon hearing someone behind him, Pei Yang turned around to see Xuan Hao standing behind him with a surprised expression plastered all over his face. Not having expected Xuan Hao to suddenly appear only a day after he had settled down. After all, there was still some time before he would hold his first lecture and he couldn't think of any reason why Xuan Hao would find him at this point in time.

"No need to look so worried, I only came because I wanted to ask you about something…" Smiling a bit upon seeing the shocked expression on Pei Yang's face, Xuan Hao could not help feeling amused at the reaction from Pei Yang.

"Ask about something? What is it?" Calming himself down and returning to an appearance befitting of someone in the Earth Immortal Realm, Pei Yang curiously asked. Wondering what Xuan Hao wanted to know from him.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to ask about the different professions and what you know about them. More specifically if you know anything about the Pseudo Saint Realm…"

"Professions? And… The Pseudo Saint Realm? Hm… I do know a bit, as I'm a Grandmaster Realm Alchemist. Although my knowledge on the Pseudo Saint Realm is rather limited due to information about the realm being restricted by those large powers…" Frowning slightly as he said this, Pei Yang could not help shaking his head as he mentioned the information on the Pseudo Saint Realm being restricted.

Even without him saying anything more, it was clear that he didn't appreciate the information on the realm being restricted by those larger powers. After all, it would be the same as forcing any aspiring alchemist, blacksmith, or other skilled cultivator in the Grandmaster Realm to join one of these large powers if they wanted to reach the Pseudo Saint Realm.

"That doesn't matter, anything you know is fine." Not caring too much about the information being restricted, Xuan Hao just wanted to know more about the different realms so he could start improving his blacksmithing as fast as possible. Even ignoring the fact that Pei Yang turned out to be a Grandmaster Alchemist.

"Fine… I guess you should know the basic about the earlier stages so let's start from the Master Relam. In the Master Realm you need to gain a basic understanding of the dao of the profession you follow. In my case it was the Dao of Alchemy. The understanding of the dao does not have to reach the Elementary Realm, but at least has to be enough for you to establish a domain… Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

The main difference between a domain established through something like the Dao of Alchemy and a normal domain that might have been established through the Dao of Fire, is the fact that the domain established by the Dao of Alchemy can't be used for fighting and is far weaker than a normal domain. The only use of the domain in the Master Realm is to help you create pills or whatever your profession is related to.

You can think of it as a sort of unique domain unrelated to the domain established while breaking through to the Domain Lord Realm… And because of this, the domain can also be used before the Domain Lord Realm. Although, it's rare for someone to comprehend one before reaching the Domain Lord Realm. Next, the Grandmaster Relam…"

Listening to Pei Yang as he began talking about the Master, Grandmaster and Pseudo Saint Realm, Xuan Hao could not help feeling pessimistic about his ability to reach the Pseudo Saint Realm in three short months.

First of all, even though the Master Realm wasn't that hard to reach given his current cultivation realm and comprehension ability, the Grandmaster Realm would require him to comprehend the Dao of Blacksmithing to the Elementary Realm… And although he didn't know a lot about how to reach the Pseudo Saint Realm, Pei Yang told him that he and some of his friends not related to any of the large powers had speculated that one would have to reach the Small Success Realm and fulfill some kind of requirement that the large powers had hidden from them.

The condition in question was not anything that Pei Yang knew anything about, and he and his friends could only speculate. For instant, one of the reasons he had ended up falling out with the Earth Immortal from the Blue Sea Empire was related to the fact that he had tried to gain access to this information and the Earth Immortal from the Blue Sea Empire had blocked him from gaining this information. Baring him from finding out how he could breakthrough to the Pseudo Saint Realm.

Of course, this was not the only reason he had ended up fighting to the death with the man. From what Xuan Hao observed, it was clear that the enmity between Pei Yang and the Earth Immortal from the Blue Sea Empire also involved another story.

Even though he felt interested, Xuan Hao decided not to ask and instead focused his attention on learning as much as he could from Pei Yang before taking his leave to start his journey to become a Pseudo Saint Realm blacksmith. Feeling some pity that Pei Yang was not a Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith, as he would have been able to help him out if that was the case.

At the very least, he managed to get the location of one of his friends who was a Grandmaster Blacksmith. The only problem was that the person lived quite far away from the Star Shattering Sect and would take at least two weeks to reach travelling on his own.

But… Considering that he had no other clue as to how to rapidly reach the Pseudo Saint Realm, he could only tell Feng Chen about him leaving again before disappearing towards the location of Pei Yang's friend.

At least this time around, he would at most be gone for a few weeks and be back before his disciples even noticed he was gone…

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Chapter 1143 Meeting Yi Min after Two Years

Leaving the Star Shattering Sect only a few days after he had returned to the sect, Xuan Hao decided to first stop by Yi Min before he made his way towards the location of Pei Yang's Grandmaster Blacksmith friend. The reason for this was that he wanted to see if he could get any help from her and at least improve his blacksmithing realm beyond the Expert Realm before meeting the Grandmaster Blacksmith.

After all, even if Yi Min wasn't anywhere near the Grandmaster Realm, she had still reached the Master Realm and would be able to provide him with some help when it came to reaching the Artisan and Master Realm.

Other than that, he also had to thank her for ensuring that none of the chaos from the war between the forces of the Sky Empire and invading empires ended up affecting the Star Shattering Sect over the past two years.

If not for the fact that she had blocked the way for any Soul Ascension Realm Expert passing by who wanted their empire to take over the border region where the Star Shattering Sect was located, the Star Shattering Sect would not have been able to expand and develop to the same extend that it had been able to over the past two years.

Because of her help and the relationship between her and Xuan Hao, the territory of the Star Shattering Sect ended up bordering her Iron Sky Kingdom… And of course, due to the help Yi Min had provided to the Star Shattering Sect during the past two years, Feng Chen, and the rest of the elders of the Star Shattering Sect didn't try to think of ways to take over the Iron Sky Kingdom and instead began doing their best convincing Yi Min to join the Star Shattering Sect.

Although Feng Chen and the rest hadn't managed to successfully convince her yet, the relationship between the Star Shattering Sect and the Iron Sky Kingdom had already become inseparable due to most of the spiritual metals in the Iron Sky Kingdom being bought up by the Star Shattering Sect instead of the Sky Empire who would have bought them in the past before the war between them and the surrounding empires had begun…

"It's been quite some time; I wonder how much Yi Min improved over the past two years…" Muttering this to himself as he arrived at the edge of the Iron Sky kingdom's capital city, Xuan Hao could not help feeling curious as to whether or not Yi Min had been able to increase her strength after she broke through to the Soul Ascension Realm.

Considering the fact that it would normally take dozens- if not hundreds of years to break through a single minor realm in the Soul Ascension Realm, he wasn't expecting her to have improved by a lot in the few years he hadn't seen her. Even then, he still felt like she wasn't one to be underestimated.

"Huh!?"

Even with all of this in mind, he was still taken aback when his divine sense swept over the capital city and found her quietly chewing on some treats in the main palace at the center of the city.

Not because she was laying around doing nothing, but because he sensed that her cultivation realm had actually managed to reach the Third Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm in the two short years, he hadn't seen her. Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

Meaning that she had broken through one minor realm a year since he had left to try and break through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm!

"Who?!" Not hiding his divine sense from her as he also intended to inform her about his presence, the relaxed Yi Min abruptly jumped up with serious expression on her face and a half-eaten cookie still in her mouth. "Huh? Xuan Hao?" Only after using her own divine sense and noticing Xuan Hao did she relax again.

Chomp~!

Whoosh-!

Not a second later, Yi Min ate the last bit of the cookie before leaving the palace. Soon landing in front of Xuan Hao with a curious expression on her face. Wondering why Xuan Hao had come to her kingdom all of a sudden.

Inevitably, her thoughts ended up drifting towards the elders of the Star Shattering Sect who had shown up over the past few months to talk to her and her kingdom joining the Star Shattering Sect.

"It's been a while, Yi Min; I see that you have helped my sect quite a bit over the past two years and came to thank you on their behalf. Outside of that, I also want to ask for your help with something."

"What is it…?" Feeling like she already knew what Xuan Hao was going to ask her about, Yi Min narrowed her eyes ever so slightly as she looked at Xuan Hao.

"Ah, it's nothing big, I just wondered if you could help teach me blacksmithing for a week or two."

"B-Blacksmithing? Teach? You… You want me to teach you blacksmithing?"

"Yes, I heard you are a blacksmith in the Master Relam and hoped you would be able to lend me a bit of your time if possible."

"This…" Not at all expecting Xuan Hao to ask her to teach him blacksmithing all of a sudden, Yi Min could not help freezing on the stop for a short moment after hearing him confirm that he indeed wanted her to teach him blacksmithing. Unable to guess why Xuan Hao wanted to learn blacksmithing all of a sudden.

"Are you perhaps busy at the moment?"

"No, no, I'm not, I would be more than happy to teach you for a few weeks!" Realizing that she had frozen up long enough for Xuan Hao to start worrying, Yi Min quickly shook her head and agreed.

Let alone teaching him blacksmithing for a few weeks, she would even be willing to have her kingdom join the Star Shattering Sect in a heartbeat if he was the one asking. After all, she still felt like she hadn't repaid him for saving her when she had been besieged by the three Soul Ascension Realm Experts…

"That's great."

Whoosh~

Waaa!? Why is he leaving just like that? Isn't he supposed to ask me about my kingdom joining the Star Shattering Sect!?

Watching Xuan Hao turn around and make his way inside the capital city after hearing her agree, Yi Min could not help starting to panic internally. The main reason why she hadn't joined the Star Shattering Sect yet was due to the fact that Xuan Hao was nowhere to be found over the past two years and she wanted her kingdom to join the sect through him instead of some random elder.

However, the person in question had just turned around and left without asking her. Leaving her confused as to whether or not she should bring up the matter herself.

No, he said that he wanted me to teach him for a week or two. During this time, I doubt that he will not bring up the matter of my kingdom joining the Star Shattering Sect over the next two weeks!

Thinking this to herself as she watched Xuan Hao disappear in the direction of her palace, Yi Min soon followed after him before both of them made their way towards the massive forge located directly beneath the main palace at the center of the capital.

The forge in question was the place where Yi Min practiced her blacksmithing, while also being the place where a group of skilled blacksmiths working under her processed the more precious spiritual metals in preparation for her to use.

Of course, given that she agreed to teach Xuan Hao over the next few weeks, she purposely made these blacksmiths leave after both of them arrived at the forge. Not intending to have anyone around to disturb her while she was taking care of Xuan Hao and soon enough, Yi Min began to teach Xuan Hao blacksmithing. Not holding anything back as she did her best to teach him with all of her strength.

Following this, two weeks quickly came and went.

Over these two weeks, Yi Min was shocked to discover Xuan Hao who had only been at the Expert Realm at the start, somehow managed to reach the Pinnacle of the Artisan Realm. Even with her own talent in the Dao of Blacksmithing being far above the norm, she understood that it was nowhere near the same level as Xuan Hao.

Of course, she had no way to know that the main reason for Xuan Hao's fast progress was due to his strong soul making it far easier for him to comprehend what she taught him. Allowing him to begin sensing the existence of the Dao of Blacksmithing over the short two weeks they had spent together. Making him only a single step away from reaching the Master Realm by the end of the second week.

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Chapter 1144 Travel Companions

"Well, it's about time for me to leave. Thank you for your help over the past two weeks, I will make sure that Elder Song sends over enough spirit stones to cover the cost of the spiritual metal I used during our time together."

Admiring an artifact at the Peak of the Soul Realm that he had just made, Xuan Hao informed Yi Min standing beside him about leaving as he put away the artifact. Thinking about giving it to one of his disciples after he returned to the sect.

"Huh? You are leaving already!?" Not having expected Xuan Hao to suddenly declare he was leaving all of a sudden, Yi Min could not help panicking as she said this out loud without thinking before looking towards him filled with disbelief written all over her face.

The reason for this was rather simple, as he had still not asked her about joining the Star Shattering Sect during the past two weeks they had spent together!

"Yes? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, it's nothing… I was just wondering where you are going now. After all, it doesn't look like you are going back to the Star Shattering Sect from what I can tell." Feeling Xuan Hao suddenly turning his attention towards her with a confused expression on his face after her surprised exclamation in response to him leaving, Yi Min quickly shook her head before trying to steer the conversation in another direction.

"Indeed, I'm planning to visit a Grandmaster Blacksmith who happens to be friends with one of my sect's elders and see if I can improve my blacksmithing even further." Luckily for Yi Min, Xuan Hao didn't think much of it and happily explained that he was going to find a Grandmaster Blacksmith to learn more about blacksmithing.

Given that Yi Min could already be considered a part of the Star Shattering Sect in his eyes, he didn't bother hiding this from her.

"A Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith!?"

Hearing that Xuan Hao was actually going to meet a blacksmith in the Grandmaster Realm, Yi Min could not help exclaiming even more loudly than before as she stared at him with disbelief. Not having expected Xuan Hao to actually know a blacksmith in the Grandmaster Realm.

Even more surprising, he was planning to meet this blacksmith and learn from him!

Thinking about this, Yi Min could not help feeling a bit jealous.

Given that she had been stuck in the Master Realm for quite a long time, she really wanted the opportunity to meet a Grandmaster Realm blacksmith and learn from them. Unfortunately, it was already rare for there to be a Master Realm blacksmith like herself in a small empire like the Sky Empire, let alone someone who had managed to reach the Grandmaster Realm.

If not for the fact that her strength was too weak before she broke through to the Soul Ascension Realm, she might already have left the Sky Empire for the core region of the empire in search of opportunities to further her understanding of not only blacksmithing, but also formations.

"Do you perhaps want to come as well?" Not knowing anything about the thoughts going through Yi Min's head, Xuan Hao could not help asking this after seeing the expression on her face.

Although he had originally planned to just visit the friend of Pei Yang by himself, he didn't mind taking Yi Min along if she wanted to come. After all, she was already a Master Blacksmith and would undoubtedly benefit from meeting a Grandmaster Blacksmith… And considering the fact that he already treated her as part of the Star Shattering Sect, he didn't think too much about it.

Hearing what he said, Yi Min could not help freezing for a short moment as she pointed at herself in disbelief. "Join? Me?"

"Yes? Do you perhaps have something important to attend to?"

"No! Not at all, I'm… I'm just worried about the safety of my kingdom during my absence, you should know that a few Soul Ascension Realm Experts from the different empires show up from time to time and I have to scare them off." Shaking her head as she said this, Yi Min could not help letting out a reluctant sigh.

Indeed, even if she wanted to go and Xuan Hao said she could join, she also understood that the Iron Sky Kingdom would be helpless in the face of a Soul Ascension Realm Expert without her around. Not to mention, the Star Shattering Sect at the other side of her borders would also get affected as a result of this…

"Hm… If that's what your worried about, we can let this little one guard your kingdom while we are gone-"

Swish~

Thinking about what Yi Min said for a short moment, Xuan Hao soon reached into his sleeve and pulled out the rabbit demon beast and the squirrel. Squeak!? Not having expected to suddenly be pulled out of what it now considered to be its home, the rabbit demon beast could not help letting out a surprised noise while the squirrel next to it remained silent. Fearing that it would end up accidentally offending Xuan Hao.

"This is- Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm!?" A rabbit pulled out his sleeve is actually stronger than me!?

Seeing the rabbit demon beast, Yi Min was just about to question Xuan Hao about why and how he had suddenly pulled a rabbit out of his sleeve when she realized that the rabbit demon beast was actually at the Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm.

"Indeed, this little one should be more than strong enough to keep your kingdom safe during your absence, even if can't use your formation." Nodding his head like there was nothing wrong with the fact that he had just pulled out a demon beast that had reached the Fourth Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm from his sleeve, Xuan Hao began to instruct the rabbit demon beast about its task. Giving it a small interspatial ring filled with spirit stones to use while guarding the Iron Sky Kingdom.

Squeak!

Feeling overjoyed that it was suddenly handed such a large number of spirit stones for simply watching the Iron Sky Kingdom and ensuring that nobody destroyed it for a short time, the rabbit demon beast didn't hesitate to grab the small interspatial ring before leaving together with the squirrel to find somewhere for them to enjoy the- cultivate and watch over the Iron Sky Kingdom.

"Okay, now that the problem has been settled, we should be leaving- Ah! Almost forgot, make sure to inform your subordinates about the rabbit demon beast and the squirrel."

"Sure…"

As things developed far too fast for her to fully comprehend, Yi Min almost mindlessly nodded her head in response before informing her most trusted subordinate about the situation through her divine sense.

"Done?"

"Yes-"

Whoosh~

"Huh…?"

Before she could even answer properly, she found herself being carried by Xuan Hao as he used his mastery over the Dao of Space to teleport both of them out of the underground forge that they had spent the past two weeks inside of.

"I will be carrying you, as you are far too slow on your own. The location of the Grandmaster Blacksmith is not anywhere inside the Sky Empire and will take at least a few months to reach with your speed."

"This… Okay…"

Not knowing how to respond, Yi Min paused for a short second before deciding to nod her head in agreement. Indeed, she didn't want to spend longer than necessary travelling. Especially when she knew they were going to meet a Grandmaster Blacksmith.

After all, who knew if the Grandmaster Blacksmith would still be at the location after they arrived? The worst possible thing would be if her only chance to meet a Grandmaster Blacksmith disappeared because she happened to miss him or her by being a few days slower.

Swish-! Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

Not wasting any time after getting Yi Min's agreement, Xuan Hao directly used the Drifting Cloud Steps and disappeared from the Iron Sky Kingdom together with Yi Min.

The main difference between now and the time he had carried Pei Yang back to the Star Shattering Sect, was the fact that he wasn't using his domain to carry Yi Min. The reason for this was rather simple, as he had realized that the burden caused by his movement technique being far smaller when carrying someone like that instead of using his domain.

Although it wouldn't make much of a difference over smaller distances that took a day or two to travel, the same could not be said for longer distances that took a week or longer.

In the end, Xuan Hao had calculated that it would at least take two weeks for them to reach the location that Pei Yang had given him before he left the sect. Resulting in Xuan Hao picking the travelling method most suitable for him to waste as little time as possible to reach the Grandmaster Blacksmith…

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Chapter 1145 Unfortunate Demonic Cultivators

Squeak!

Following Xuan Hao leaving the Iron Sky Kingdom together with Yi Min, the rabbit demon beast happily waltzed inside the main palace and made itself at home inside a large empty guest room before starting to eat a few of the spirit stones from the interspatial ring Xuan Hao had given it before closing its eyes to focus on absorbing the pure qi inside the spirit stones.

Rustle~

Not too long after the rabbit demon beast had settled down like this, the squirrel cautiously appeared at the entrance to the guest room.

Squeak…

Scanning over the mostly empty guest room before spotting the rabbit demon beast, the squirrel let out a somewhat nervous squeaking sound before finding a place inside the guest room to settle down and cultivate on its own. Not daring to approach the rabbit demon beast and ask it for some of the spirit stones.

Considering the training it had gone through since meeting the rabbit demon beast, it had learnt that it was wise to never ask it for any of its spirit stones and instead focus its attention on cultivating by itself. Even if it was slower to cultivate without the assistance of spirit stones, it felt happy as long as it could cultivate without being beaten up by the rabbit demon beast…

At this point in time, although the squirrel had grown far stronger compared to before it had accidentally stumbled inside the Sea of Mist and could in a sense be considered a powerful demon beast in a kingdom like the Iron Sky Kingdom, it had no clue about this and still thought of itself as weak, a side effect of it only having interacted with beings far more powerful than itself after starting its cultivation journey.Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

Whoosh~

As the squirrel and rabbit demon beast settled down and both focused on cultivating inside the main palace, the muscular man at the Domain Lord Realm and most trusted subordinate of Yi Min could not help escaping from the main palace after personally having escorted the rabbit demon beast into the main palace just a short time earlier.

Although he had been informed about the rabbit demon beast being a powerful demon beast in the Soul Ascension Realm, he had not believed it at first after seeing the cute looking rabbit the size of his hand and accidentally used his divine sense to scan the rabbit demon beast. Resulting in the rabbit demon beast using its terrifying divine sense to shatter part of his divine sense as punishment.

Even though it didn't permanently damage him, he would at least need a few weeks to recover.

If not for the fact that the rabbit demon beast was supposed to guard the Iron Sky Kingdom during his master's absence, he didn't doubt that it would have outright killed him earlier!

I have to ensure that the main palace is isolated until master returns with the senior… Thinking this to himself as he escaped from the main palace with a terrified expression on his face, the muscular Domain Lord Realm Expert quickly began making arraignments for the staff in charge of maintaining the main palace to leave.

Given that Yi Min had informed him about not saying anything about her absence unless necessary, he decided to use the excuse of her going into seclusion to try and improve her blacksmithing as an excuse.

Considering the fact that she had spent two weeks locked up in the forge and the fact that Yi Min would normally close off the main palace to anyone when she was about to undergo an important breakthrough or trying to further her understanding in blacksmithing of formations, there wasn't anyone who doubted this.

As a result of this, it didn't take long before the rabbit demon beast and the squirrel were the only living beings left inside the main palace… And to the relief of the muscular Domain Lord, they didn't look like they had any plans of leaving the main palace to explore the Iron Sky Kingdom during their stay. Soon causing the somewhat chaotic situation caused by the staff and guards being moved out of the main palace to return to normal again. None of them having the slightest idea that Yi Min had already left the kingdom and the current protect had turned into a small cute looking rabbit.

…

At the same time that the rabbit demon beast and squirrel got used to their new home for the next few months, Xuan Hao and Yi Min crossed the border of the Sky Empire in the direction of the Frozen Wasteland.

According to the information Pei Yang had given him, the Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith was not located anywhere in the core region of the continent where he had expected him to be. Instead, he was located at a small kingdom at the very edge of the continent, one of the few places where the continent met the endless ocean that had managed to establish a kingdom according to Pei Yang. Apparently, the coast next to the endless ocean was not that great to live next to as countless thunderstorms and waves would sweep dozens if not hundreds of kilometers inland every few years. Destroying anything in their path.

The only way a kingdom could survive under such circumstances would be if a Domain Lord Realm Expert or stronger established a formation to protect the kingdom… And given the fact that the qi was already close to nonexistent, it was incredibly rare for any kingdom to exist in such an environment. After all, if given the chance, no Domain Lord Realm Expert would willingly stay at the edges of continent.

All of this is not mentioning the fact that a powerful demon beast from the ocean might appear at any given moment and destroy the said kingdom, with most of these demon beasts at least having reached the Domain Lord Realm, some even reaching the Earth Immortal Realm.

With all of this in mind, the only people who would settle down and establish and kingdom under such circumstances would be people hiding away from the larger powers in the core region.

Even though Pei Yang hadn't explicitly said that his blacksmith friend was one such person, it was easy to guess after finding out that he was located in a kingdom at the edge of the continent.

The only thing that puzzled Xuan Hao was what this friend of Pei Yang had done for him to hide away at the edge of the continent. Considering what Pei Yang had gone through, he had a feeling that it might also be related to the fact that he wanted to breakthrough to the Pseudo Saint Realm but had been stopped by the different major powers before being able to accomplish his goal.

In the end, this ended up making Xuan Hao even more curious about the thing needed to break through to the Pseudo Saint Realm. After all, he still had to reach the Pseudo Saint Realm in less than three months' time and also needed to find out what it was that the major powers were hiding regarding the breakthrough to the Pseudo Saint Realm.

"Hm? Demonic cultivators?"

Lost in his own thoughts while travelling through the Frozen Wasteland together with Yi Min, Xuan Hao could not help frowning upon noticing a large number of demonic cultivators gathered a short distance away from the temporary barrier he had created between the Azure Sky Kingdom and the Frozen Wasteland in the past.

"Indeed, there are at least three in the True Demon Realm. From the looks of it, they are preparing to invade the Azure Sky Kingdom…" Hearing what Xuan Hao muttered to himself, Yi Min curiously scanned the group of demonic cultivators in the distance with her divine sense before she said this with a worried expression on her face.

Three demonic cultivators in the True Demon Realm would be more than enough to make even her feel a shiver run down her spine. After all, compared to normal cultivators in the Soul Ascension Realm, demonic cultivators in the True Demon Realm were known to be stronger when it came to combat.

In a sense, only in the True Demon Realm could a demonic cultivator be considered to have abandoned their past and turned into a full-fledged demon intent on doing anything to increase its power.

As an example, Yi Min could clearly see one of the female demonic cultivators in the True Demon Realm happily draining the life energy out of a dozen unfortunate demonic cultivators in the First and Second Demonic Transformation Realm…

"Invade the Azure Sky Kingdom? Guess I will have to deal with them and strengthen the barrier I created back then…" Muttering this to himself as he glanced towards the gathering of demonic cultivators in the distance, Xuan Hao frowned visibly before abruptly coming to a stop.

"Xuan Hao…?"

Feeling like something big was about to happen, Yi Min could not help turning to Xuan Hao as she nervously uttered his name.

"It's nothing, I just plan to pay the little gathering over there a visit before we continue our journey…"

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Chapter 1146 New Barrier

"Pay the little gathering a- Ah!" Realizing what Xuan Hao was saying, Yi Min froze for a short moment before looking towards the gathering of demonic cultivators with a sense of pity in her eyes.

Although the three True Demon Realm demonic cultivators were far too strong for her to deal with, she understood that they were no match for Xuan Hao. After all, she had already seen him easily deal with three Soul Ascension Realm cultivators in the past. Not to mention, if she could improve her strength all the way to the Third Tribulation of the Soul Ascension Realm over the past two years, Xuan Hao would undoubtedly also be able to increase his strength.

Whoosh~

As she thought about this, she suddenly felt the space around them twisting before both of them were in the air above the group of demonic cultivators. Even when directly above the three powerful demonic cultivators who should have easily noticed someone appearing above them, none of the demonic cultivators had noticed her or Xuan Hao floating in the air a few hundred meters above them.

Rumble~!

Before she even had the time to think about what Xuan Hao was planning to do, she suddenly saw a giant sword made of ice manifesting in the air above the group of demonic cultivators. Even when it was not pointed at her, she could still not stop a shiver from running down her spine when seeing this sword.

Although she had no idea how strong it was, she was certain that she would not be able to defend against the sword…

"Wh-what is that!?"

"A Sword…?"

"Did someone from the core region perhaps show up?!"

Given that Xuan Hao didn't make any effort in trying to hide the giant ice sword now hovering in the air above the group of demonic cultivators, it did not take long before all of them fearfully turned to look up at the ice sword that had seemingly appeared out of thin air above them. All of them trying to figure out where the ice sword had appeared from and if they had ended up encountering a powerful expert from the core region of the continent.

After all, as the situation in the Frozen Wasteland grew more chaotic and the number of demonic cultivators escaping from the Frozen Wastelands increased with each year, experts from the core region of the continent had already begun to appear around the borders of the Frozen Wasteland to ensure that the demonic cultivators didn't end up expanding what could be considered the territory of demonic cultivators while escaping from the Frozen Wastelands.

As all of the weaker demonic cultivators thought about possibly having run into a powerful cultivator from the core region, they could not help looking towards the three True Demon Realm cultivators. Considering the difference in strength, the only ones that had the strength to face the experts from the core region of the continent were these three… Unfortunately, the three True Demon Realm Experts were in no state to help the rest of the demonic cultivators as they also looked up at the ice sword hanging in the sky above them filled with fear.

"This power- A Demon Lord!? Impossible! why would such an existence come to this remote part of the Frozen Wasteland!?"

"Not a Demon Lord, it's an Earth Immortal…"

"Does that change anything?!"

As the three True Demon Realm demonic cultivators nervously exchanged a few glances with each other, they realized that there was no way for them to escape from their current situation. Even if they were at the peak of the True Demon Realm, there was no way for them to escape from the sword hovering in the air above them.

In a sense, the only reason why they had managed to stay alive so far was because the master of the sword had yet to make a move.

"""…"""

As the situation persisted like this for a little over half a minute without the sword above them moving, the demonic cultivators could not help growing suspicious.

Is the master of the sword perhaps intending to spare us?

The moment this thought appeared among the demonic cultivators, it soon spread like wildfire before a few of the demonic cultivators became brave enough to take the chance to try and escape in the opposite direction of the Azure Sky Kingdom-

Whoosh~

However, before they had a chance to take more than a few steps, the giant ice sword hovering in the air above them emitted an almost indistinguishable hum before it descended towards them. Giving them no time to react before the blade stabbed into the ground.

RUMBLE-!

As the giant ice sword more than a thousand meters in length plunged into the frozen ground, a strange resonance occurred between the natural yin qi present in the Frozen Wasteland and the sword. Triggering a cataclysmic release of frigid energy that instantly killed all the demonic cultivators expect the three in the True Demon Realm, who barely managed to survive by forcibly burning the lifespan.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Following the cataclysmic event that seemed to engulf the entire Frozen Wasteland in the eyes of the three barely alive demonic cultivators, they watched in horror as an ethereal glow emanated from the sword stabbed into the frozen ground.

Even if they had managed to survive the first part of the attack just now, they had a feeling that the sword itself was not aimed at them, but something different… And as the air around the sword began to crystallize, this feeling only ended up growing more intense. NvεlB¡n: Unleashing Imagination, One Read at a Time.

…

"Hm? Those three actually managed to survive…? Indeed, the vitality of demonic cultivators is far above that of normal cultivators…" Muttering this to himself as he glanced down at the three barely alive demonic cultivators, Xuan Hao could not help narrowing his eyes for a brief moment before focusing his attention back on the ice sword now embedded in the frozen ground.

The reason why he hadn't directly used the ice sword to kill the demonic cultivators was because the sword's primary focus was not to kill the demonic cultivators, it was to create a new barrier between the Frozen Wasteland and the Azure Sky Kingdom.

Now that his strength had increased, he not only wanted the barrier to cover the border between the Azure Sky Kingdom and the Frozen Wasteland, but also wanted it to protect the kingdoms located beside the Azure Sky Kingdom. After all, quite a few of these kingdoms had already become part of the Star Shattering Sect and already needed quite a bit of help to deal with the constant influx of demonic cultivators from the Frozen Wastelands.

RUUUMBBLEEE-!

In response to Xuan Hao's will, the sword shone with an even more terrifying might as it became the focal point for the frigid yin qi of the Frozen Wasteland to gather towards, transforming the immediate vicinity into a chaotic tempest that would freeze anyone below the Earth Immortal Realm to death in an instant, a fate that soon caught up with the three demonic cultivators unfortunate enough to be close to the center of this tempest.

Even if demonic cultivators cultivated yin qi and had a far higher resistance than normal, they had no ability to resist the terrifying frigid yin qi that gathered around the ice sword in their current state…

"Aaaah-!"

Letting out a painful scream one after the other, the three demonic cultivators perished in quick succession. However, the frozen storm didn't subside following their death and instead only increased in intensity as it continued to grow in size under the constant influx of frigid yin qi from the Frozen Wasteland.

"This should be enough…"

Feeling that the frozen storm had already grown to a size and power that was close to reaching a level impossible for him to control, Xuan Hao stopped the ice sword below from gathering more frigid qi and using all of his strength, he forcibly pulled the ice sword acting as the center of the storm out of the ground before throwing it in the direction of the Azure Sky Kingdom-

Bang!

Crack-!

As the sword landed a few thousand meters away from the Azure Sky Kingdom, creating a massive crater where it landed, Xuan Hao moved fast and created a dozen similar swords before sending them off in the direction of the other kingdoms from the Sky Empire bordering the Frozen Wasteland-

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Before the frozen storm had time to spread into the Azure Sky Kingdom, the other swords landed and connected together with the ice sword that the frozen storm was centered around.

Rumble~!

Not a second later, the frozen storm stopped encroaching on the Azure Sky Kingdom and instead began to spread out and connect up with the other ice sword, weaving together to create a formidable barrier separating the different kingdoms from the Frozen Wasteland.

Although the size and power of the storm was reduced significantly due to this, it would still be close to impossible for any True Demon Realm demonic cultivator to cross it without dying.

In the end, Xuan Hao had successfully managed to accomplish what he wanted, creating a barrier between the territory of the Star Shattering Sect and the Frozen Wasteland.

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Chapter 1147 Crossing the Frozen Wasteland

"This..."

Seeing the large frozen storm forming a barrier between the Frozen Wasteland and the Sky Empire, Yi Min could not help swallowing unconsciously as she felt a shiver run down her spine.

Although she knew Xuan Hao was stronger than the demonic cultivators, she didn't expect the demonic cultivators to die so easily. Not to mention, when looking at the frozen storm now blocking the path from the Frozen Wasteland to the Sky Empire, she understood that Xuan Hao had most likely surpassed the Soul Ascension Realm. At least that was the only way she could explain what she had just witnessed.

"Let's get going before more demonic cultivators show up." Not aware of how shocked Yi Min was following his creation of the barrier between the Sky Empire and the Frozen Wasteland, Xuan Hao didn't say anything more before leaving the scene together with the still shocked Yi Min.

Even though it had looked easy for him to create the frozen storm now separating the Sky Empire from the Frozen Wasteland, the qi required to accomplish something like that had almost ended up draining his dantian completely. After all, the barrier was not a formation and couldn't absorb the qi from the air around it to strengthen and keep itself running, it only had the initial qi Xuan Hao had used to create the ice swords controlling the frigid qi gathered from the Frozen Wasteland. The moment the qi in the ice sword ran dry, the frozen storm would disperse by itself, and the frigid yin qi would return to the Frozen Wasteland.

In the end, it wasn't a permanent solution to the problem of demonic cultivators entering the territory of the Star Shattering Sect from the Frozen Wasteland, but it would at least ensure that no demonic cultivator in the True Demon Realm or below entered the Star Shattering Sect's territory during his absence…

"Huh? This is…" As Xuan Hao and Yi Min left following the death of the demonic cultivators and made their way along the edge of the Frozen Wasteland, Xuan Hao could not help frowning when he suddenly felt a powerful divine sense sweeping over both him and Yi Min from deeper inside the Frozen Wasteland. This chapter was first shared on the Ñøvlß1n platform.

Though it only swept over them for a brief moment before disappearing again, it was obvious from the strength of the divine sense that the other party had at least reached the Earth Immortal Realm… And given that he had just used up most of his qi to create the frozen storm, Xuan Hao had no plans of getting involved with a powerful demonic cultivator-

Whoosh-!

For this reason, before the other party could show up or do anything, he decided to preemptively use most of his remaining strength to execute the Drifting Cloud Steps. Using his mastery of the Dao of Space to rapidly teleport across the small patch of the Frozen Wasteland they had to cross over to reach the edges of the continent where the Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith was located.

Rumble~

Not a second after Xuan Hao had disappeared together with Yi Min, a handsome man looking like he was in his mid-twenties appeared at the spot where he had been standing with a frown on his face, a pair of devil horns visible on the top of his head.

"Hmph! The Dao of Space… Did those people discover anything or is this just a coincidence…?" Muttering this to himself as he looked in the direction that Xuan Hao had disappeared in together with Yi Min, the man let out a reluctant sigh before turning around to head back into the core of the Frozen Wasteland again.

"No matter whether it's someone sent by one of those people, they shouldn't be certain for them to send someone to investigate the situation. If they truly had an idea, they would have already shown up personally instead of sending someone in the Earth Immortal Realm…" Shaking his head as he said this, the handsome man tore apart the space in front of him before walking through it.

Different from Xuan Hao who had manipulated space to teleport, he used a far cruder method of using his strength to tear apart space directly to teleport.

Although it was useful and demonstrated that one's strength had at least reached the Soul Ascension Realm, it was far inferior to someone who had comprehended the Dao of Space. Not only due to the consumption involved in tearing space, but also due to the lowered accuracy in teleporting somewhere.

If not for the fact that the handsome young man didn't master the Dao of Space, he would undoubtedly have tried to catch up with the escaping Xuan Hao and tried to get answer out of him.

Unfortunately, he couldn't do this and could only give up. Allowing Xuan Hao to escape.

…

"Haaa… That was close…" Using the next few hours to rush out of the Frozen Wasteland, Xuan Hao could not help letting out a sigh of relief after realizing that the owner of the powerful divine sense didn't chase after them. Although he had no idea how strong the other party was and only knew that it should at least be in the Earth Immortal Realm, he also understood that there was a chance that the owner of the divine sense had surpassed the Earth Immortal Realm and reached the demonic cultivators equivalent of the Celestial Immortal Realm.

"Did something happen…?"

Being far too weak to notice the powerful divine sense earlier, Yi Min could not help showing a somewhat confused expression on her face as she asked this. Not understanding why Xuan Hao had suddenly gone quiet before increasing his speed far beyond anything she had ever seen before.

"A powerful divine sense swept over us from the core of the Frozen Wasteland. Although the divine sense didn't seem to be looking for us, I didn't want to take any chances and decided to escape before the other party could think about catching us." Seeing Yi Min's confused expression, Xuan Hao didn't hide anything as he explained his reason for their earlier escape from the Frozen Wasteland.

"I see… How powerful was the demonic cultivator?" Hearing what Xuan Hao said, Yi Min nodded her head in understanding before asking this. Feeling curious about how powerful a demonic cultivator who could scare him away was.

"I don't know, but it should at least be in the later stages of the Earth Immortal Realm, possibly even above that!"

"Above the Earth Immortal Realm!? This… I never expected for there to be demonic cultivators that powerful inside the Frozen Wasteland."

"Well, the Frozen Wasteland should have something to rely on for it to stay strong over so many years…"

As Xuan Hao said this, both him and Yi Min looked at each other. Only now realizing that the Frozen Wasteland was far more dangerous than it seemed at the surface. Especially Xuan Hao, who hadn't really treated the Frozen Wasteland too seriously before. Mainly due to the knowledge he had obtained through the sky Empire earlier on that stated that the strongest demonic cultivators at the core of the Frozen Wasteland were in the True Demon Realm.

From the looks of things, he should pay more attention to the Frozen Wasteland in the future.

Even if the demonic cultivators didn't end up invading his sect, he needed to at least have an idea about how strong the place filled to the brim with demonic cultivators bordering his sect's territory was in case they ended up falling out with them in the future.

At least, given the fact that none of the major powers like the Blue Sea Empire had decided to go in and kill off the demonic cultivators yet, he could assume that the Frozen Wasteland was at least as strong as these major powers. Meaning that they would at least have a handful of experts in the Celestial Immortal Realm.

Thinking about it, not only did he have to deal with the Heavenly Dragon Temple and the Blue Sea Empire in the future, but from the looks of it, he would also have to deal with the Frozen Wasteland if the Star Shattering Sect wanted to continue to expand in the future.

Not to mention, there was no saying how the different major powers in the core of the continent would react to the rise of a new power that would end up cutting into their share of the cultivation resources on the continent.

Outside all of this, there was also the different religious organization that would be less than happy at the rise of a sect that wouldn't allow them to harvest the faith of the kingdoms and powers under them.

"…"

Thinking about this, Xuan Hao could not help smiling wryly to himself. From the bottom of his heart, he had a feeling that he understood why he had to raise a few disciples. If he had to deal with everything by himself, he would undoubtedly end up dying of exhaustion…

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Chapter 1148 The Blue Shore Kingdom

Having crossed the Frozen Wasteland, the rest of the journey to the edge of the continent where the kingdom of the Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith was located went without any problems.

Along the way, both Xuan Hao and Yi Min took in the desolate environment beyond the Frozen Wasteland, as they were both left shocked by just how little qi was present on the other side, as it reached a point where even someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm could be considered the strongest person around, something unimaginable under normal circumstances.

It was also during the little under two weeks of travel after crossing the Frozen Wasteland that both of them realized that even with the lack of qi between heaven and earth, the number of people living on the edges of the continent where the qi was close to nonexistent was by no means small. Even when comparing to a kingdom like the Azure Sky Kingdom, there were quite a few kingdoms close to it in size.

Of course, compared to the Azure Sky Kingdom, these kingdoms were far weaker and at most had a few Peak Foundation Establishment Realm Experts at the helm, while in rare cases they would have an old ancestor who had barely broken through to the Core Formation Realm.

Out of everything they witnessed during their journey, they didn't encounter a single person who had managed to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm. On the contrary, the strongest person that they had encountered hadn't even reached the Peak of the Core Formation Realm and was instead an old man at the Seventh Stage of the Core Formation Realm, who had been hailed as a legendary immortal god by the kingdom he resided in and the surrounding kingdom due his age exceeding 500 years.

The main reason why he could live beyond the normal lifespan of a Core Formation Realm Expert was not because he had invented some kind of longevity method to increase his lifespan, but instead due to being lucky enough to find an interspatial ring of a powerful alchemist containing a dozen or so life extension pills that had increased his lifespan by a little over 500 hundred years.

Although there was only one pill left by the point Xuan Hao and Yi Min passed through his kingdom, both of them could not help lamenting over the wasted pills as they witnessed him swallowing the last one.

After all, life extension pills were incredibly difficult to create, even for someone in the Grandmaster Realm, let alone life extension pills that allowed one to increase one's lifespan by a few hundred years.

Unfortunately, even after taking a quick detour to check on the interspatial ring of the Seventh Stage Core Formation Realm Expert with the life extension pills, there wasn't any recipe for the life extension pills and only a few pills that would help with increasing one's cultivation in the Core Formation Realm and a special pill for helping one breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm were left.

Given that the Star Shattering Sect didn't lack those kinds of pills and the fact that Yi Min didn't care about pills like that either, they ended up leaving them to the Core Formation Realm Expert who had managed to extend his lifespan by over five hundred years.

Maybe with the help of the pills, he could become the first person native to the edges of the continent who managed to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm.

At least Xuan Hao and Yi Min didn't plan to take away his opportunity after realizing that there was nothing related to the life extension pills left, causing them to leave before the Core Formation Realm Expert even realized that his interspatial ring had disappeared.

Like this, both Xuan Hao and Yi Min arrived at the border of a small kingdom called the Blue Shore Kingdom, the kingdom where the Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith was located and also one of the only kingdoms on the continent that bordered the ocean.

The kingdom itself was not that big and only covered a small area that included the capital city and a dozen or so smaller cities that produced most of the food in the kingdom.

Even then, the Blue Shore Kingdom could be considered the most famous kingdom at the edges of the continent. Not only because it had existed for far longer than any other kingdom, but also because the qi between heaven and earth inside the small kingdom far exceeded that of the rest of the desolate area.

As a result of this, the number of cultivators present in the Blue Shore Kingdom was also far higher and also a place where immortal gods resided according to the locals. Of course, the so-called immortal gods were not like the Core Formation Realm Expert who had managed to get his hands on a few life extension pills, but were instead Nascent Soul Realm cultivators whose lifespan almost seemed endless in the eyes of the cultivators in the desolate area. After all, a Core Formation Realm Expert could at most live around 300 years under normal circumstances, while someone in the Nascent Soul Realm could easily live for 2000 years or longer.

However, Xuan Hao and Yi Min wasn't really here for the so-called immortal gods of the Blue Shore Kingdom and was instead there for the Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith who should be the person behind the existence of the Blue Shore Kingdom.

Although the locals didn't seem to know a lot about his existence from what Xuan Hao and Yi Min picked up along the way, they did hear a few legends about a mystical immortal that had descended in the past and established the Blue Shore Kingdom.

The only problem was that the Blue Shore Kingdom had been around for close to ten thousand years at this point in time. Resulting in the legends of what should have happened in the past being nothing more than an abstract fairy tale of mortals trying their best to describe the powers of a cultivator who should have at least reached the Earth Immortal Realm.

"Hm? This is…" "The qi…

Unexpectedly, after stepping inside the territory of the Blue Shore Kingdom, Xuan Hao and Yi Min were both surprised at the concentration of qi inside the kingdom. Not only was it superior to the normal environment found in the core region of the continent, but it could even be considered similar to the environment created inside some of the smaller cities in the Blue Sea Empire that had a qi gathering formation covering them.

Even if this would not normally be shocking considering that the Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith should have at least reached the Earth Immortal Realm, it had to be known that to increase the concentration of qi in one area, one had to draw it from somewhere.

In the cities of the Blue Sea Empire, the qi was drawn from the rich environment around them, while in the Star Shattering Sect, it was drawn from the chaotic qi above.

On the other hand, the qi in the Blue Shore empire was not drawn from the environment, let alone the chaotic qi that was far more difficult to refine.

"Where did the qi from this place come from?" Muttering this to herself as Xuan Hao put her down after they reached the Blue Shore Kingdom, Yi Min could not help curiously examining the formation covering the Blue Shore Kingdom.

After all, compared to Xuan Hao who was still in the Artisan Realm in terms of formations, Yi Min had already reached the Master Realm and had a far better understanding than him when it came to formations.

Whoosh~

It was also because of this, that Yi Min was the first to use her divine sense to probe into the formation. Attempting to find out where the qi inside the Blue Shore Kingdom had come from-

Rumble-!

However, the moment Yi Min used her divine sense to probe the formation covering the Blue Shore Kingdom, a change took place as a terrifying divine sense descended on both of them, causing Yi Min to quickly retract her divine sense while moving closer to Xuan Hao for protection.

Of course, compared to Yi Min who could only tell that the owner of the divine sense was far stronger than her, Xuan Hao could clearly tell that the owner of the divine sense was in the Earth Immortal Realm. Around the same level as Pei Yang before he was injured.Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

This must be the Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith Pei Yang mentioned…

Whoosh~

Realizing the identity of the person behind the divine sense, Xuan Hao wasted no time in taking out a small token that Pei Yang had handed him before he had left.

"This… Pei Yang's friends?"

Not a second later, an old voice echoed out in both Xuan Hao and Yi Min's ears as an old man flew over from the capital of the Blue Shore Kingdom and appeared in front of them with a bewildered expression on his face.

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Chapter 1149 Gong Cheng

"Yes, you should be Gong Cheng…?" Hearing the old man calling out to them along with him instantly mentioning Pei Yang, Xuan Hao guessed that the old man in front of them was indeed the Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith that Pei Yang had mentioned. "Indeed, I'm Gong Cheng… Are you two perhaps here to hide away?" Nodding his head, Gong Cheng slightly tilted his head with a puzzled expression on his face as he asked this.

"Hide away…?" Showing a similarly confused expression on his face after hearing Gong Cheng's question before a look of understanding replaced it.

Considering the fact that the Blue Shore Kingdom was located at the edge of the continent, and it was a well-known fact that people escaping from the different major powers would flee to places like this, it wasn't odd for Gong Cheng to think that they had come to the Blue Shore Kingdom for a similar reason. After all, there wasn't really any other reason why someone at their cultivation realm would bother heading to the edges of the continent where powerful demon beast emerged from the ocean every now and then to cause chaos.

"No, we came to seek guidance from you in blacksmithing!" For this reason, Xuan Hao quickly shook his head and stated his and Yi Min's intentions for showing up.

"Hm? You came all the way here to seek guidance from me? What about Pei Yang? Is he still alive?"

"No, we came to seek guidance from you in blacksmithing!" For this reason, Xuan Hao quickly shook his head and stated his and Yi Min's intentions for showing up.

"Hm? You came all the way here to seek guidance from me? What about Pei Yang? Is he still alive?"

"Still alive…? What do you mean?" "Huh? I thought you- Never mind, it's good that fellow is still alive. Honestly, I thought he would be dead after I heard about him entering the Blue Sea Empire." Shaking his head while saying this, Gong Cheng only now seemed to realize that they hadn't come to hide away from one of the major powers in the core region.

"So… Can you still teach us senior…?" Seeing this, Yi Min stepped forward and asked a bit nervously. Obviously not used to referring to someone else as a senior with how she had spent most of her cultivation journey figuring out things on her own without the help of anyone senior teaching her.

Of course, this was not because she didn't want the assistance of someone stronger than herself, but instead because getting the guidance of a senior normally required her to join a larger power or pay some kind of price… And before she knew it, she had already managed to figure out the thing she wanted to learn about on her own and become one of the strongest people in the Sky Empire. No longer needing the assistance of the Soul Ascension Realm Experts of the Sky Empire due to finding her own path.

Now faced with someone far beyond her current realm in both cultivation and blacksmithing, Yi Min could not stop herself from growing a bit nervous.

"…"

Standing beside her, Xuan Hao could not help silently rolling his eyes.

Where was this kind of nervousness when she faced him? Just in terms of strength, he should be stronger than Gong Cheng… Perhaps it's because she is already used to his presence?

Thinking about this to himself as he watched Gong Cheng put on a thoughtful expression after hearing what Yi Min said, Xuan Hao could not help wondering what the old man had done to be chased out of the core region.

After all, given that he was a Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith and had reached the Earth Immortal Realm, there shouldn't be any reason for those larger powers to chase him away. On the other hand, they should be trying to recruit him to strengthen themselves.

Hm… Maybe it's the same reason why Pei Yang ended up falling out with the Blue Sea Empire, the method to break through to the Pseudo Saint Realm. Although, I have a feeling that there is a bit more to Pei Yang's case than just that…

"I will teach you both on behalf of Pei Yang, but it won't be for longer than two months, I still have other things to do, and my lifespan is already close to running out at this point in time."

At the same time Xuan Hao was lost in his own thoughts thinking about Pei Yang and what might have caused the battle he had seen back when he first met him, Gong Cheng finally seemed to have thought things through as he agreed to teach them for a period of two months.

However, outside of the fact that he agreed to teach them, he also ended up revealing the fact that his lifespan was about to run out, a fact that caused both Xuan Hao and Yi Min to freeze for a short moment.

"Your lifespan is running out?! If I can ask… How old are you?" Not surprisingly, Yi Min could not help asking this question. Mainly because she had learnt about the Earth Immortal Realm from Xuan Hao during their journey to the Blue Shore Kingdom… And from it, she knew that someone in the Earth Immortal Realm could live up to a hundred thousand years, some even longer than that.

"Hehe, don't worry, I'm not as old as you think I am. Although Earth Immortal Realm cultivators can live for a hundred thousand years, that is only under optimal circumstances. In most cases, Earth Immortal Realm cultivators will accrue all sorts of hidden injuries over time that affects their vitality. In the end, most will live to around seventy thousand years, a few thousand longer if they are lucky. Ah, I'm a little over sixty-nine thousand years old and should only have a little over a thousand left from what I can tell."

""…""

Hearing that Gong Cheng was actually close to seventy thousand years old, Xuan Hao and Yi Min could not help feeling surprised. Especially when he mentioned that he only had a little over a thousand years left to live.

After all, both Xuan Hao and Yi Min were below the age of one thousand!

For a thousand years to be considered a short time was shocking to say the least and made both of them understand that crossing through the Earth Immortal Realm in the future would take far longer than any realm before that. Indeed, deserving of having the word immortal in the name of the realm…

"Ehm… Let's go to the capital for now, I will help both of you find somewhere to settle down first before we begin the lessons tomorrow… And although it might not look like it, my comprehension of the Dao of Blacksmithing is far superior to that of Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith. Not to brag, but my comprehension is already half a step into the realm of perfection.

If not for the fact that something other than comprehension of the Dao of Blacksmithing is required when breaking through to the Pseudo Saint Realm, I would long since have become a Pseudo Saint Realm Blacksmith.

Who knows, If I manage to reach the realm of perfection before passing away, I might end up directly breaking through to the Saint Realm…" Shaking his head with a somewhat depressed expression on his face, Gong Cheng turned to look in the direction of the core region with a look of longing.

Even if he had hidden away at the edges of the continent and built a small kingdom for himself to live in, it was obvious that he still wanted to continue pursuing the Dao of Blacksmith.

Unfortunately, he had been chased out of the core region and could only hide away at the edges of the continent where there wasn't any precious spiritual metal around for him to practice his blacksmithing.

Of course, there was the option of entering the ocean in search of spiritual metal deposits, but the danger involved in this was far from something someone in the Earth Immortal Realm could do safely.

Not to mention accidentally stumbling on a powerful demon beast in the Celestial Immortal Realm, who knew what kind of terrifying creatures were hidden beneath the waves?

Whoosh~!

Whoosh~!

Whoosh~! Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

Deciding not to say anything when faced with the somewhat depressed state of Gong Cheng, Xuan Hao and Yi Min just ended up silently following the old man back to the capital city of the Blue Shore Kingdom, where they were quickly given a place to stay for the next two months before Gong Chen disappeared inside the largest palace at the core of the capital city.

During the entire ordeal, Xuan Hao was rather surprised that the old man didn't ask for anything in return for teaching both of them but guessed that there wasn't really much he could offer to him that would be useful, outside of something precious like life extension pills or elixirs that could help him live longer.

After all, he doubted any artifacts he could produce would be useful to a Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith, while the spiritual metal he did have on him was below the Transcendent Grade and wouldn't be useful to a Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith…

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Chapter 1150 Requirment For the Saint Realm

Spending the rest of the day getting familiar with the palace Gong Cheng had given them to stay in during their stay, Xuan Hao and Yi Min also took the chance to explore the capital of the Blue Shore Kingdom. During which both of them discovered that there were far more powerful cultivators present than they had first expected. Having been hidden away by a formation that covered the capital city and the area a few thousand meters around it.

Not to mention Domain Lord Realm Experts and Soul Ascension Realm Experts, there were around three other Earth Immortal Realm Experts outside Gong Cheng present in the capital of the Blue Shore Kingdom. Making it rather obvious that Gong Cheng wasn't the only person who had chosen to hide away from the different major powers at the edge of the continent.

Even though it wasn't easy to gauge the strength of the three Earth Immortal Realm Experts as they seemed to be trying their best to hide themselves inside a few of the smaller palaces located around the one Gong Cheng had disappeared inside of, Xuan Hao still managed to gauge their strength to some extent… And although they were not as strong as Gong Cheng, they were still a bit stronger than someone who had just broken through to the Earth Immortal Realm.

On the other hand, Yi Min focused her attention on the different Soul Ascension Realm Experts inside the capital city. After all, she herself was in the Soul Ascension Realm at the moment and felt shocked at suddenly encountering so many Soul Ascension Realm Experts in such a remote location where the qi between heaven and earth was far from enough to allow someone to reach the Soul Ascension Realm.

In the end, both Xuan Hao and Yi Min found out that all of the people in the Domain Lord Relam and above were people who had fled from the core region of the continent after falling out with one of the major powers or some of the vassals attached to these major powers.

By talking to some of the Domain Lord and Soul Ascension Realm Experts, they also managed to learn that the Blue Shore Kingdom had existed for far longer than they had first thought. Having existed for over a hundred thousand years before Gong Cheng took control of the kingdom and the ancient formations that protected it a little over ten thousand years ago.

Thinking about it, this also made more sense, as the formations ensuring the dense qi inside the kingdom seemed far more complicated the more Xuan Hao and Yi Min tried to analyze it.

According to Yi Min who was already at the Master Realm in terms of formations, the formation that gathered the qi and guarded the capital city of the kingdom should be above the Grandmaster Realm. Meaning that it should at least be in the Pseudo Saint Realm. Maybe even the Saint Realm. Far beyond what someone like Gong Cheng, who wasn't even a formation master, could create.

Even if there happened to be a formation master at the Grandmaster Realm among the cultivators hiding in the Blue Shore Kingdom, it was unlikely that one of them was behind the formations.

Because of all this, Xuan Hao, and Yi Min both ended up becoming even more interested in the qi gathering formation covering the Blue Shore Kingdom and where the dense qi had come from. In the end, this led to them finding out that the qi gathering formation not only covered the Blue Shore Kingdom, but actually stretched over ten thousand meters out into the ocean. Resulting in both of them guessing that the qi inside the kingdom came from somewhere in the depths of the ocean that the qi gathering formation covered.

Of course, given the dangers that might be lurking beneath the surface, neither of them intended to go in and try to find out about the source of the qi for now.

Even though it was only a little over ten thousand meters off the shore of the continent, the little information both of them had learnt about the demon beasts lurking in the ocean stopped them.

Not to mention, the ocean itself was also special and made it hard for one's divine sense to penetrate too far below the surface, as an example, Yi Min could go a little over a hundred meters below the surface with her divine sense, while Xuan Hao could go close to two thousand meters down.

Although Xuan Hao could see the bottom of the ocean with his divine sense for the first few thousand meters off the shore, the ocean floor suddenly dropped off a cliff and went straight down beyond what he could see with his divine sense after reaching the eight-thousand-meter mark.

Looking at the steep drop and the seemingly endless ocean beyond it, Xuan Hao guessed that the ocean truly began at that point… And it would be far less safe compared to the relatively shallow part of the ocean close to the continent. After all, in the shallow part of the ocean, he could at least see everything swimming around, something that became impossible beyond the eighth-thousand-meter mark with his current strength.

…

Following Xuan Hao and Yi Min spending a day getting familiar with the Blue Shore Kingdom and some of the more powerful cultivators who resided there, it was soon time for them to meet up with Gong Cheng again-

"Haha, I see that both of you have already managed to settle down, I hope both of you are prepared for the next two months."

And as predicted, Gong Cheng appeared in front of them the moment the sun rose, and the first few rays of light hit the ground.

"Yes! Please guide me well senior!"

Answering the question with excitement, Yi Min respectfully bowed her head as a sign of respect.

Following her learning about the fact that Gong Cheng was close to reaching the realm of perfection in the Dao of Blacksmithing, she understood that the next two months might be a chance for her to reach the Grandmaster Realm in Blacksmithing.

After all, the main requirement to reach the Grandmaster Realm was to take the first step in comprehending the Dao of Blacksmithing, thus reaching the Elementary Realm in the Dao of Blacksmithing.

Of course, with Gong Cheng's comprehension of the Dao of Blacksmithing, he should have long since surpassed the Grandmaster Realm, but the method to reach the Pseudo Saint Realm was still unknown to anyone outside of the major powers, thus leaving him stuck at the Grandmaster Realm.

The reason why he had mentioned reaching the Saint Realm before the Pseudo Saint Realm during their first meeting, was due to the fact that there was a rumor among different professions on the continent that one would be able to reach the Saint Realm without breaking through to the Pseudo Saint Realm if one managed to comprehend the dao of one's profession to the realm of perfection… And given that he was close to reaching the realm of perfection and had still not managed to find out how to reach the Pseudo Saint Realm, it was obvious he would think about reaching the Saint Realm and skip over the Pseudo Saint Realm.

In fact, Xuan Hao and Yi Min had learnt that there were many others like Gong Cheng spread around the continent who refused to work for the different major powers and thus ended up stuck in the Grandmaster Realm trying to purse the realm of perfection and become a saint without the need for the major powers support.

Naturally, with so many trying to reach the Saint Realm, there had been someone in the past who had ended up succeeding. Lending some validity to the rumor, but that person ended up being killed by a Celestial Immortal Realm Expert from one of the major powers shortly after news of this spread out.

As a result, to this day, there wasn't a single known Saint Realm Expert on the continent. Although, there might be some hiding inside the core territory of the different major powers or at the edges of the continent. Afraid to end up dead in case the major powers found out about their existence…

"Thank you for taking your time to teach both of us." Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

Following Yi Min's example, Xuan Hao also decided to bow his head as a sign of respect to the old man. After all, he was his senior when it came to the Dao of Blacksmithing and his age was enough for him to have existed far longer than most powers on the continent, outside of the different major powers. The knowledge he should have gathered during such a long period of time was priceless and something Xuan Hao had already begun thinking about possibly using to help out the Star Shattering Sect.

After all, if Pei Yang could be recruited, couldn't the old man in front of him be recruited as well…?

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Chapter 1151 Unspoken Concerns of the Blue Shore Earth Immortals

Unaware of the thoughts going through Xuan Hao's head as he observed him, Gong Cheng didn't think too much about what both of them said as he made his way towards a large forge located at the edge of the capital city next to a natural heat source, while Xuan Hao and Yi Min quietly followed after him.

Even if there weren't any good spiritual metals around at the edge of the continent where the Blue Shore Kingdom was located, looking around as they made their way inside the relatively large forge, it became obvious that Gong Cheng still practiced his blacksmithing on an almost daily basis from the large number of artifacts and spiritual metal covering every inch of the space.

Although most of the artifacts present were at most in the Spirit Rank and would normally only be useful for someone in the Core Formation Realm, it was obvious that the strength of the artifacts forged by Gong Cheng far exceeded the limitations of their rank. Showing just how profound Gong Cheng's understanding of the Dao of Blacksmithing was, while also allowing both of them to understand that Gong Cheng was still fully intend on trying to break through to the Saint Realm even if his lifespan was about to run out.

Thinking about it for a bit as they looked at each other, Xuan Hao and Yi Min realized that the reason why he only wanted to teach them for a period of two months should be because he didn't want to waste any time on anything other than improving his blacksmithing.

In a sense, the reason why he had agreed to teach them in the first place, should be because of his past relationship with Pei Yang and the fact that he understood that it was Pei Yang asking him for a favor when it came to teaching both of them.

If not for the fact that they had come under Pei Yang's recommendation, it was doubtful whether or not he would agree to teach them.

After all, even if Xuan Hao was strong and felt confident in his own strength, giving him a certain level of leverage, he wasn't much stronger than Gong Cheng. Not to mention, there were another three Earth Immortal Realm cultivators in the capital city of the Blue Shore Kingdom outside of Gong Cheng himself.

Even if he had wanted to try and force Gong Cheng's hand with his strength, he doubted he would be able to succeed with his current strength. After all, there was also the mysterious ancient formation protecting the Blue Shore Kingdom that he had to think about. Although wasn't clear about the strength of this formation, he had feeling that it should at least have reached the Earth Immortal Realm if not beyond that…

"Hm?"

As they continued making their way towards the core area of the forge where the little spiritual metal of the Blue Shore Kingdom and the furnace itself was located, Xuan Hao suddenly noticed a particular artifact leaning on the side of a worn-down anvil.

Although the sword didn't look that special at first glance, the strength contained inside of it was far beyond the quality of the metal that made it up.

The sword itself was only at the Spirit Rank, but the power contained inside of it was more than strong enough to threaten someone in the Domain Lord Realm and even seemed to be close to reaching a level that could threaten someone in the Soul Ascension Realm. Putting it at the same level as Peak Mystic Rank Artifact!

"This sword is…" Not able to contain his curiosity after seeing such a weird sword that had managed to skip two ranks, Xuan Hao could not help curiously turning towards Gong Cheng with a questioning look on his face.

"Oh? You noticed that sword? Hehe, it's indeed a little special compared to the rest, but it's only useful for someone in the Domain Lord Realm and below… To be honest, I tried to turn it into a Transcendent Rank Sword back when I forged it but ended up falling short by a bit. The sword is nothing more than a failure that can at most be considered Half a step into the Transcendent Rank. Not quite at the Transcendent Rank, but also a bit stronger than a normal Mystic Rank artifact." Shaking his head as he said this, Gong Cheng thought about something for a moment before walking over to the sword before grabbing hold of it before throwing it over to Xuan Hao.

"You can have it if you want. Although it is a failure in my eyes, the engravings I made in it is still useful for comprehending the Dao of Blacksmithing. At least it should make it a bit easier to reach the Elementary Realm in the Dao of Blacksmithing." Saying this, Gong Cheng turned around and continued making his way inside the forge under the shocked eyes of Xuan Hao and Yi Min.

Something that could help assist someone reach the Elementary Realm in the Dao of Blacksmithing could be considered a priceless treasure, yet… Gong Cheng had casually handed it over to Xuan Hao without a single care.

""…""

In the end, Xuan Hao and Yi Min decided not to say anything as they just silently followed Gong Cheng deeper inside the forge, Xuan Hao not forgetting to place the sword away inside one of his interspatial rings.

Even if it might not be useful to him for long as he planned to reach the Pseudo Saint Realm over the next two months, it would undoubtedly be useful for the blacksmiths back in the sect and might even help the Star Shattering Sect reach a new height in terms of blacksmithing.

After all, the sword was something that could be comprehended and researched by multiple people at a time and didn't require anyone teaching the ones trying to comprehend the Dao of Blacksmithing inside of it.

…

At the same time Xuan Hao and Yi Min were being escorted through the forge by Gong Cheng, the three Earth Immortal Realm cultivators who were staying in the capital of the Blue Shore Kingdom had gathered together to talk.

"I wonder who the two people Gong Cheng recently welcomed are…"

"Hm… From what I can tell, it doesn't look like they are planning to settle down and only here for a temporary period of time, they will likely leave again after getting what they came from."

"Indeed, but I'm quite interested in the man, he should also be in the Earth Immortal Realm like us. Although the feeling he gives me is quite strange. Almost threatening."

The object of their conversation just so happened to be Xuan Hao and Yi Min who had just arrived at the Blue Shore Kingdom, then again, considering the fact that both Xuan Hao and Yi Min were relatively strong, it made sense for them to come together and try to figure out why they had suddenly appeared and seemed to already know Gong Cheng.

After all, even if Yi Min wasn't strong enough for them to care, Xuan Hao wasn't like that… And as the third among them had just said, he gave off a feeling that was more powerful than a normal Earth Immortal Realm cultivator. Forcing them to take the situation a bit more serious than the arrival of any normal Earth Immortal Realm Expert. Unravel the Unknown, Unleash the Unimaginable: NvεlB¡n.

"Indeed, the guy is quite strange, I really hope it isn't something troublesome…" Shaking his head as he said this while the rest of the group had momentarily gone quiet, the first among the three who also happened to be the one behind their gathering, looked out in the direction of the forge where Xuan Hao, Yi Min and Gong Cheng were at the moment.

Even without saying anything, it was obvious to the other two that he was feeling nervous about what Xuan Hao and Yi Min might want from Gong Cheng. After all, given the remote location of the Blue Shore Kingdom and the fact that they were all enemies of the different major powers, there was only a few things people would go through the trouble to find someone like Gong Cheng… And it was preciously because of this that all of them were so nervous at the moment.

"Let's just observe the situation for now, as long as they don't end up involving the Blue Shore Kingdom in anything troublesome like the last time around, we shouldn't actively try and antagonize them."

As a few more minutes passed without anyone leaving the forge, one of the three Earth Immortals shook her head before getting up to leave.

Whoosh~

"Haaa…"

Following the first one leaving, the other two only glanced towards the forge for a short moment before one of them let out a sigh before similarly turning around to leave. "…"

In the end, the last of the Earth Immortals continued to stay for a few more minutes before following the other two to leave. Hoping that nothing troublesome or dangerous would come out of Xuan Hao and Yi Min's visit.

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Chapter 1152 Initiation into the Dao of Blacksmithing

Unaware of the conversation that had taken place between the three Earth Immortals of the Blue Shore Kingdom following them entering the forge together with Gong Cheng, Xuan Hao and Yi Min arrived at the core of the forge where a giant furnace far larger than any furnace either of them had seen before. Even from a quick glance, it was obvious that the furnace was not a normal furnace, but instead a spiritual artifact that had at least reached the Transcendent Rank. Indeed, worthy of being the furnace used by a Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith who was only a step away from forcibly breaking through to the Saint Realm.

"Given that the spiritual metal available is not of that great quality around this place and I already used up most of the higher quality spiritual metal I could get my hand on, I will use most of the time over the next two months teaching you. If you want to try and attempt forging yourself, you are more than free to do so and can even use my furnace if you want. The only thing is that I can only provide spiritual metal at Spirit Rank…" Showing a slightly embarrassed expression on his face as he said this, Gong Cheng allowed Xuan Hao and Yi Min to take in what he said as he glanced towards the piles of spiritual metals located around the core compartment of the forge.

Although there was quite a bit of spiritual metal present, it was mostly Earth Rank spiritual metal, with a small part of it having reached the Spirit Rank. In a corner of the core compartment of the forge, a single piece Mystic Rank spiritual metal could be seen leaning up the side of an anvil made out of far higher quality spiritual metal.

Given his identity as a Grandmaster Realm Blacksmith, it was quite embarrassing that the spiritual metal in his forge was so low quality. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do about it when living so far away from the core region of the continent where the spiritual qi was abundant and capable of nurturing large quantities of spiritual metal.

""…""

Silently looking around the forge as they heard what Gong Cheng said, both Xuan Hao and Yi Min could not help feeling bad for him after seeing just how bad his current situation was. "Senior, I brought a bit of spiritual metal with me for practicing. If you don't mind, you can have some…"

"Me as well, I have a bit of spiritual metal as well!"

Not able to endure the sad sight of Gong Cheng who was looking around at the spiritual metal in his forge with a depressed expression on his face, Xuan Hao, and Yi Min both decided to take out some spiritual metal before handing it over to him. Among the spiritual metal Xuan Hao and Yi Min handed over, Xuan Hao decided to include a piece of spiritual metal in the Transcendent Rank that he had belonged to one of the three demonic cultivators he had killed when they passed through the Frozen Wasteland.

"This is… Thank you! Haha, I will make sure both of you comprehend the Dao of Blacksmithing over the next two months!" Seeing the large amount of Mystic Rank spiritual metal and the piece of Transcendent Rank spiritual metal, Gong Cheng froze for a short moment before loudly exclaiming in a joyful tone.

Whoosh~

At the same time, he didn't miss a beat as he put away the spiritual metal in his interspatial ring for safe keeping.

Although it wasn't befitting of his current status as the senior, he also understood that the amount of spiritual metal was far too good to refuse. Not to mention the Mystic Rank spiritual metal, with the help of the Transcendent Rank spiritual metal that Xuan Hao gave him, he would be able to forge an artifact befitting of his skill. Possibly even helping him further increase his understanding of the Dao of Blacksmithing in the process.

No matter how unfitting it was, there was no way Gong Cheng would give up a chance to increase his understanding of the Dao of Blacksmithing.

On the other hand, after being given the large amount of spiritual metal by the two, Gong Cheng decided to teach both of them with all of his might over the next two months. Intending to help both of them comprehended the Elementary Realm of the Dao of Blacksmithing before the two-month period was up!

"Thank you in advance senior."

"Thank you…"

Seeing this scene, Xuan Hao and Yi Min decided not to say anything and just went with the flow.

"Hehe, no need to thank me yet. For now, how about we get started with the basics of the Dao of Blacksmithing? After that, both of you can try and use my furnace to get more familiar with the dao through more practical means." Smiling happily as he heard what Xuan Hao and Yi Min said, Gong Cheng pretended like nothing had happened. "Now then, let's get started…" And before Xuan Hao or Yi Min had a chance to respond, he officially began teaching both of them about the Dao of Blacksmithing.

Keeping it simple as he slowly starting to talk about more and more profound things, Gong Cheng observed Xuan Hao and Yi Min silently listening to him while siting down on two cushions that both of them had brought out the moment he had started to preach the Dao of Blacksmithing.

As a few hours passed by like this, Gong Chen realized that both Xuan Hao and Yi Min's were able to easily comprehend everything he said. Leaving him dumbfounded as to how high their affinity for the Dao of Blacksmithing was. Especially Yi Min, who had only reached the Soul Ascension Realm and had a far weaker soul than someone like Xuan Hao.

Of course, he had no idea that Xuan Hao had only reached the Artisan Realm in Blacksmithing and thought that he was also a Master Realm Blacksmith like Yi Min, who had specifically come to him for a chance to breakthrough to the Grandmaster Realm.

If he knew that Xuan Hao was just an Artisan Realm Blacksmith yet was able to comprehend the Dao of blacksmithing with such ease without even reaching the Master Realm, it was unknown what he would think. NvεlB¡n: Your Escape into Infinite Tales.

Even if the powerful soul of an Earth Immortal was able to make it far easier to comprehend the dao, there was still limitations. After all, someone in the Master Realm was already close to reaching the Elementary Realm in the Dao of Blacksmithing, while someone in the Artisan Realm hadn't even taken the first step in comprehending the Dao of Blacksmithing.

For Xuan Hao to be capable of comprehending the Dao of Blacksmithing at this stage essentially meant he would be able to directly skip past the Master Realm and reach the Grandmaster Realm by comprehending the Dao of Blacksmithing, the unique domain that would normally appear at the Master Realm would show up on its own after his breakthrough to the Grandmaster Realm…

Hm… If they can still keep up and stay relaxed? What if I increase the difficulty a bit more…

Unaware of this, Gong Cheng decided to start increasing the difficulty of what he taught the two. Curious about how much the two could comprehend and if they could grasp the opportunity to directly comprehend the Dao of Blacksmithing and reach the Elementary Realm through the first session.

In the end, because of this, the first session that Gong Cheng had only intended to last for a few hours and serve as an introduction to the Dao of Blacksmithing ended up lasting far longer than expected as he continued trying to test Xuan Hao and Yi Min to see how much they could comprehend from him.

For the first time in a long time, he also experienced the joy of teaching a talented student who could soak up everything he taught them.

More importantly than all of that, he also felt the barrier to the Perfection Realm starting to show signs of loosening as he continued teaching Xuan Hao and Yi Min. In the end, he unknowingly slipped into a enter a state of enlightenment a week after he had begun preaching the Dao of Blacksmithing to Xuan Hao and Yi Min. However, this enlightenment didn't stop him from preaching the Dao of Blacksmithing. Instead, the difficultly of what he preached increased rapidly. Reaching a point where Xuan Hao and Yi Min could barely understand what he was saying.

But even with this, both of them still benefitted immensely from what little they understood, causing Yi Min to reach the Grandmaster Realm by the second week, while Xuan Hao entered the Grandmaster Realm a bit later. Successfully breaking through by the third week.

Both of them officially reaching the Elementary Realm in the Dao of Blacksmithing through the single lecture. At the same time, it was also at this point that they noticed that something was odd about Gong Cheng…

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