Chapter 433 - 428: Fast Clearance

Chapter 433: Chapter 428: Fast Clearance

After the Middle Ancient Era, all the Super Long Transmission Arrays were inexplicably destroyed for reasons unknown.

The dream of traveling from Beiyue in the morning to Cangwu by dusk could now only be found in ancient books and biographies, never to be seen again.

According to ancient texts, the Cultivation Realm should have five continents and ten Immortal Islands.

This was unlike its current state: a single Cultivation Continent divided into Five Domains, with islands scattered across the Outer Sea that could by no means be considered the Immortal Islands.

Without Super Long Transmission Arrays, the waters of the Outer Sea became a Celestial Chasm for Cultivators.

Cunsi Peak of the Moral Sect has toiled in the Outer Sea for tens of thousands of years, dedicated to reopening a path to the other Cultivation Continents.

However, besides the heavenly wrath of lightning and endless tsunamis, in the deepest parts lay the legendary Wind of the End of Dharma and the Withering Rain.

Legend has it that this is a perpetual anomaly, formed when an Upper Realm True Immortal fell here, and it will never fade.

And that was an Upper Realm True Immortal, not some ordinary Immortal.

When the Wind of the End of Dharma blows past, True Essence scatters and Divine Techniques are nullified.

If the Withering Rain falls upon you, your cultivation reverts to its very beginning, and your lifespan rapidly ebbs away.

Even Nascent Soul True Monarchs can only shrink back in fear before these two great celestial perils.

Even Divinity Transformation Great Powers would not dare attempt to pass.

If it was truly formed from a dead True Immortal, it would surely contain Its will, Its Divine Thought.

Even if a Divinity Transformation Great Power could use their Grotto Heaven Power to resist the Wind of the End of Dharma and the Withering Rain, the slightest influence from the True Immortal’s Divine Thought would instantly corrupt their Primordial Spirit.

The Divine Thought of a dead True Immortal is enough to assimilate any cultivator in the Human World.

This risk alone was enough to deter all Divinity Transformation Great Powers.

Beyond the celestial perils and anomalies, the countless Demon Beasts in the sea are also great enemies of Human Race Cultivators; venturing deep into their territory risks complete annihilation.

The culmination of these factors is what has made the Human Race Cultivators’ expansion into the Outer Sea so slow.

The Cunsi Peak lineage fought a lonely battle. Without support from the sect’s other peaks, their progress was slow.

A small number of medium-to-long range teleportation arrays, with ranges over a hundred thousand li, still existed. However, since the art of their repair was lost, their numbers only dwindled with each use.

The only type whose construction method had been passed down was the short-range teleportation array, which could only cover a distance of twenty to thirty thousand li at most, making it not very practical.

Especially when considering the cost of building one, only a few exceptionally powerful sects would install them in critical locations.

Other sects, even if they had the method, could only let it collect dust.

Watching the cultivators enter the passage one by one, Bai Zichen’s figure flickered. He appeared at the center of the giant lotus and stepped inside.

Once all ten Core Formation True Men had entered, the Lotus Secret Realm gradually faded from view.

It would be another 60-year cycle before it appeared again.

When their time in the Secret Realm was up, the Core Formation True Men would be randomly teleported out; they would not return through the initial passage.

The spectating cultivators who witnessed this launched into another bout of fervent discussion, only gradually dispersing several days later.

For the next several years, this group of Core Formation True Men, who were considered among the elite of the Northern Domain, vanished without a trace.

At first, people still discussed the various possibilities within the Lotus Secret Realm, speculating which treasures might be claimed.

But as time went on, the spotlight was stolen by other events.

For example, the Celestial Principle Sect once again deployed its warships, set up a Grand Array, and launched a fierce, array-versus-array assault against the Holy Lotus Sect.

Several Core Formation Elders from both sides died in the fighting, and the number of other fallen cultivators was simply countless.

At the foot of Qii Mountain’s main peak lay severed limbs and pools of bloody flesh. The stench of gore drifted for a hundred li.

Then, news came from the Southern Domain: amidst the billions of poisonous insects of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, a Hundred-Eyed Celestial Centipede had been born and had already grown to Tier Four.

In its wake, all life, human and animal, perished. There were no survivors.

A million mortals and several sects had already vanished along the Hundred-Eyed Celestial Centipede’s path of destruction.

Fortunately, the two domains were far apart, so the cultivators of the Northern Domain mostly treated the matter as a conversation piece, feeling little actual panic.

...

The world spun. After a disorienting sense of spatial displacement, Bai Zichen opened his eyes to find himself in a lush forest.

It was filled with ancient trees so thick that it would take several people to encircle their trunks. Sunlight filtered through their massive canopies, creating a play of dappled light and shadow on the forest floor.

’According to the ancient books, Teleportation Arrays should have matching Teleportation Tokens. Holding one allows you to resist a portion of the Power of Void, so even someone at the Foundation Establishment Cultivation level could use one... But with my physique, a mere short-range teleportation array has no effect on me. Not even the slightest discomfort.’

Bai Zichen inspected his body. After confirming he was completely unharmed, he began to get his bearings.

’Brother Ge said the Lotus Secret Realm is shaped like a lotus flower, its petals arranged in progressive layers leading to the pistil at the center. My goal is clear. There’s no need to linger on the way; I’ll head straight for the core.’

The Lotus Secret Realm was perfectly preserved, and its internal space was the largest of any secret realm he had ever entered.

It dwarfed the Black Mountain Ancient Secret Realm, which could be seen from end to end with a single glance, and even the Sword Tomb Secret Realm was nowhere near as vast.

While the other nine were still recovering, using Secret Techniques to contact one another and familiarize themselves with their surroundings, Bai Zichen had already shot forward, flying on without a single glance back.

’Brother Ge was automatically teleported out of the secret realm when his time was up... According to other cultivators who have been in the Lotus Secret Realm, the realm closes when someone triggers a mechanism or fulfills a certain condition.’

At this thought, the sword light beneath Bai Zichen intensified as he sped up. Since he was so far ahead, he didn’t have to worry about anyone discovering the origin of his Flying Sword.

’Normally, the Secret Realm lasts for six or seven years, but there have been times when it ended after only three... I just hope some lucky bastard doesn’t show up and end the Secret Realm prematurely before I’ve subdued the Tier Four Flying Sword!’

Looking down from high above, he could see that the landscape below was formed of distinct lotus petals, each one about ten li wide.

Rosy mists swirled at every turn, and exotic herbs grew in abundance.

Golden light and vibrant clouds filled the air, and Spiritual Qi soared to the heavens. Every so often, another Spiritual Object would come into view.

’No wonder the Lotus Secret Realm is so famous. Even if I don’t obtain one of the top-tier treasures, the rewards along the way will make this trip more than worthwhile...’

After crossing just three "petals," Bai Zichen had already spotted five Spirit Grasses, three exotic flowers, and a patch of ground suffused with the sharp, martial aura of Golden Spears, indicating high-quality Five Metals Spirit materials were buried beneath.

Although most were Tier Two, a few Tier Three Spiritual Objects also appeared intermittently.

And they were all unguarded. If one were to carefully collect them, their value upon leaving would likely cover the price of admission to the Holy Lotus Sect’s event.

However, the Core Formation True Men who entered the Lotus Secret Realm were the cream of the crop; why would they be satisfied with such paltry gains?

These were merely incidental gains. For High-Tier Treasures, one had to press on toward the center.

Bai Zichen’s goal was clear. He didn’t even slow down when his Divine Sense swept over a winding vine bearing several brightly colored, slender Spirit Fruits whose skin was covered in tiny, scale-like patterns.

’Those look like Snake Scale Fruit, one of the supplementary ingredients for refining the Tribulation Crossing Pill. If there’s still time after I find the Flying Sword, I’ll come back for them.’

He flew for several more days before the scenery ahead changed. A dense, white mist descended, reducing visibility to less than a hundred yards.

Even the range of his Divine Sense was suppressed to less than a tenth of its usual scope.

He could faintly hear the roars of beasts from within the white mist, which concealed countless dangers waiting to devour any cultivator who entered.

Aside from mutual slaughter, this white mist was where the most Core Formation True Men had met their end in the past.

It was home to countless Exotic Species of Demon Beasts, completely different from those in the outside world. They were incredibly ferocious and knew only slaughter.

Moreover, the white mist didn’t hinder them; it enhanced them. As long as they weren’t killed outright, they could rapidly recover from even the most grievous injuries.

Every Core Formation True Man who came to this place had to proceed with extreme caution, slowing their pace.

They feared being ambushed by a Demon Beast lurking somewhere in the mist and dying an unremarkable death.

But the speed of Bai Zichen’s sword light didn’t decrease. He charged straight into the white mist, completely disregarding the warnings of those who came before him.

After traveling a hundred li, a fierce wind howled from behind him. A black shadow closed in, and several points of cold light glinted, aiming to slice him in two at the waist.

The invisible, colorless sword light leaped. It was as if the move had been rehearsed a thousand times; the black shadow seemed to throw itself right onto the Formless Sword’s light.

SCHRRRIP! A thin line of blood appeared, running from its head to its tail, before it crashed heavily to the ground.

THUD!

It was a bizarrely shaped Demon Beast, with the body of a leopard, a single horn on its head, and a scaled tail.

Its Demon Body, now split in two, gushed blood, dyeing a nearby boulder crimson.

’A Tier Three Low-Grade Demon Beast, but in terms of speed, it was no worse than many Tier Three Top-Grade Demon Beasts... Add in the home-field advantage, and it’s no wonder Core Formation Cultivators have fallen here.’

Without looking back, Bai Zichen had his sword light retrieve the Demon Pill, which now pulsed faintly in his palm.

He took out a jade box and stored the Tier Three Demon Pill safely inside.

With his Moon Xuan active, the dense white mist was perfectly clear to him. He had already taken in all the movements of the nearby Demon Beasts.

If not for the more important Tier Four Flying Sword that awaited him, this would have been a great opportunity to collect Demon Pills.

The Exotic Species of Demon Beasts in this white mist had been breeding for who knows how many years. With no outside predators, and the handful of cultivators who entered every 60-year cycle barely making a dent in their numbers.

Most remarkably, these Demon Beasts could actually feed on the white mist itself, with no need to consume flesh and blood.

No one knew just how many of these Exotic Species of Demon Beasts dwelled in the depths of the white mist.

Even at Bai Zichen’s speed, it took a full seven days of Sword Control to finally break through the dense white mist. The world ahead of him brightened.

Without even trying, he had added five more Tier Three Demon Pills to his storage pouch.

’From here on should be the core region of the Lotus Secret Realm. But how do I find the Tier Four Flying Sword...?’

Bai Zichen flew to a great height. The terrain below was no longer shaped like petals, but like the delicate filaments of the lotus’s pistil.

No longer concealing his sword light, he pushed the power of his Moon Xuan Sword to its absolute limit.

A clear brilliance spread across the land, making it as bright as day.

A layer of silver frost seemed to coat the earth, slowly spreading for dozens of li and continuing to expand.

With the aid of the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box, the Moon Xuan Sword achieved something far beyond the limits of a normal Tier Four Flying Sword.

However, the mental toll such a feat took on the sword’s master was, as one might imagine, immense.

It was only because it was Bai Zichen; any other Core Formation True Man would have been utterly incapable of sustaining such a Secret Technique.

Even if another cultivator’s Divine Sense was strong enough to compare with his, they wouldn’t have the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box. The moment they unleashed the Moonlight, their True Essence would be completely drained.

Bai Zichen could only resort to this brute-force method, sweeping the brilliant Moonlight back and forth a few times.

After pulling it back, he moved to another location and once again activated As Clear as Daylight.

As a fellow Tier Four Flying Sword, he refused to believe that the sword in the Lotus Secret Realm could remain hidden and unresponsive after such a blatant display of power.