Chapter 531 - 54: Entering

Chapter 531: Chapter 54: Entering

Tian Nan Domain,

A small border town on the edge of the Endless Desert in the west.

Shen Changchuan, disguised as an ordinary young man, walked along the street. He watched the bustling crowds and the figures that occasionally streaked across the sky overhead.

His gaze darkened.

’I seem to remember that this entire Endless Desert is a barren wasteland. Shouldn’t there be very few ordinary people here?’

’What’s going on?’

Shen Changchuan wondered.

The western part of the Tian Nan Domain was a boundless, wild desert.

Its expanse was so vast

that even a Soul Emergence Realm Cultivator would find it difficult to fly across alone.

More importantly,

in this barren land, there were vast stretches where not even a single blade of grass could be found.

Let alone Spiritual Qi.

This was an impoverished and desolate place,

with very few Immortal Cultivation Forces.

At most, there were only some Qi Introduction Early and Middle Stage Cultivators who couldn’t make it elsewhere in the Tian Nan Domain. They would come to this sparsely populated, barren land to live off the scraps the major forces disdained.

But now,

setting aside the bustling crowds on the street,

the Soul Emergence Realm Cultivators streaking through the sky above

were enough to indicate that some unforeseen event had occurred here without his knowledge.

"My friend, may I ask if something has happened around here recently? Why have so many people flooded in?"

Shen Changchuan casually grabbed a passerby to inquire.

"Damn it... Ha, you’re too kind, Young Master! You’ve come to the right person. Everyone knows me as the go-to guy for information!"

The man had originally worn an impatient expression.

But when he saw the Middle Grade Spirit Stone in Shen Changchuan’s hand, his expression changed in a flash, an incredible display of skill.

After taking the Spirit Stone and biting it to confirm it was real, his expression became utterly fawning.

"It’s true that a lot of Cultivators from out of town have shown up recently. That’s because not long ago, a Secret Realm appeared on the outskirts of the desert..."

From the man’s explanation,

Shen Changchuan pieced together the general sequence of events.

The incident had occurred half a year ago.

It was said that at the time,

a pillar of light had suddenly shot into the sky from the depths of the Endless Desert, visible even from thousands of miles away.

Soon after, the news spread.

More and more Cultivators began to rush over, creating the current situation where a once-dilapidated border town was now bustling with Cultivators, giving it an unusual air of prosperity.

In recent days,

there were even rumors of Cultivators arriving from beyond the Tian Nan Domain,

making the place quite lively.

’Ruins have appeared? I hope it’s not the Xiangshan Sect Ruins they’ve discovered...’

Shen Changchuan frowned slightly, a trace of worry rising in his heart.

’An oversight!’

Shen Changchuan sighed internally.

Although he had received the gift from that so-called brother of his, knew the location of the Xiangshan Sect Ruins, and even had the Token to enter...

But the problem was,

the Mountain Gate of the Xiangshan Sect Ruins wasn’t just standing there,

waiting for him alone to come and enter!

The ruins were right there,

and he simply had a head start on everyone else.

While he had been busy with other matters,

others had also been searching for the Xiangshan Sect Ruins and looking for related clues.

Those prodigies from the Outer Realms wouldn’t act like background NPCs in a game, waiting for him to finish the main storyline before they made their move.

With their diligent searching,

it wasn’t impossible for them to find some clues.

Moreover,

that initial rumor,

coupled with the reactions of the major forces from the Outer Realms,

all pointed to the fact that this wasn’t baseless speculation...

However,

during that previous period,

he really hadn’t had the time to go.

Whether it was being under public scrutiny and unable to act rashly, or the opportunity at the Spirit Transformation Pool later on,

he simply never had a suitable window of time.

At this thought,

the slight regret Shen Changchuan had felt vanished.

’Regardless, I should head over there first.’

’In the end, it’s just a matter of dealing with whatever comes my way.’

Shen Changchuan adjusted the sand-proof Conical Hat on his head

and strode toward the edge of the city.

At that same moment,

the man who had answered Shen Changchuan’s questions spun around and ducked into a dark alley.

He hurried past a few low eaves and entered a dilapidated courtyard.

"Boss, we’ve got a fat sheep!"

...

The yellow sand stretched endlessly.

A hurricane swept through, kicking up a sky-blotting sandstorm.

Atop a sand dune,

Shen Changchuan expressionlessly released his grip on the head of a corpse, its face frozen in terror, letting it fall limply to the ground.

Upon closer inspection, one would recognize this person as the very same passerby Shen Changchuan had asked for directions in the small town!

And at this moment,

all around,

several other bodies of varying heights and builds lay scattered about.

"What a waste of courtesy!"

Flicking his hand, Shen Changchuan’s expression soured.

In truth,

back in the city,

he had sensed the man’s strange movements with his powerful Divine Sense.

Curious, he had used his Divine Sense to follow him.

As it turned out,

the fellow had actually marked him as a fat sheep and had even gone to gather a group of accomplices to ambush and kill him.

Considering he hadn’t learned much from him,

Shen Changchuan had simply slowed his pace and let them all catch up.

Then,

he had used his invincible strength to crush them all,

and employed a Soul Search technique to scour their minds for information,

putting the trash to good use

to obtain more details.

However,

to Shen Changchuan’s disappointment,

this group hadn’t been in the border town for long, having arrived only about a month before him.

The information they had was mostly just the common, widespread rumors.

As for the specific details about the ruins that had appeared deep in the desert, they knew nothing at all.

They only knew that the ruins seemed to be extraordinary,

and that many foreign Soul Emergence Realm Cultivators had already flocked there.

As for those at the Qi Introduction Realm,

basically all who had gone had not yet returned.

It was unknown whether they were being blockaded by the big shots from the Soul Emergence Realm and forbidden to leave, or if they had all been killed.

As for the Soul Emergence Realm experts, while some had returned, they almost all left in a great hurry, barely stopping at all.

Beings of that level were not someone they could get close to,

and under such unknown circumstances,

they hadn’t dared to act rashly.

That was why they had stayed in this border town for over a month without making a move.

This was also the reason

why this border town had now gathered so many Qi Introduction Realm Cultivators.

’Whatever. No point in worrying so much. I’ll just go over and see for myself.’

Shaking his head,

Shen Changchuan decided not to waste any more time here.

His entire body transformed into a streak of light, soaring into the sky and disappearing into the depths of the desert.

「Several days later.」

Following the map Shen Chong had given him,

Shen Changchuan’s figure landed on an unremarkable hill.

’Good. The entrance isn’t at the same place where those other ruins appeared...’

Seeing no one around,

Shen Changchuan breathed a sigh of relief.

He took out the Token and activated it with his Magical Power.

In an instant,

a void-like vortex appeared in the empty space before him.

Joy blossomed in Shen Changchuan’s heart,

and he stepped into it.