Chapter 134: Turbulent Changes in the Eastern Domain

Chapter 134: Chapter 134: Turbulent Changes in the Eastern Domain

Peach Blossom Valley, Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain.

It had been more than half a year since Chu Fan entered the Secret Realm. Yun Xi sat on a stool in front of their bamboo house, a small basket filled with needles, thread, and pre-cut fabric placed before her.

She and Chu Fan had bought the fabric and sewing supplies together. Her skills weren’t very refined back then, and she never had the time to sew while they were constantly on the move.

However, after Chu Fan entered the Secret Realm, her skills had become more and more refined under Yan Jiuxuan’s guidance.

After all, Yan Jiuxuan was the only human on Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, so she had to take care of all her own needs—from food and shelter to clothing. She even designed and sewed her own garments.

Yan Jiuxuan had explained to her many times that it was possible to get trapped in areas with a different time rate inside the Secret Realm. She’d assured her that aside from man-made threats, the Secret Realm itself was not dangerous, and Chu Fan would definitely emerge within three years at the most.

But as time went on, Yun Xi’s worries grew with each passing day.

She asked Yan Jiuxuan almost every other day when Chu Fan would be back.

Every day, aside from her Cultivation and practicing her Sword Technique, she would sit here, sewing clothes and waiting for Chu Fan’s return.

In the past half-year, she had sewn many sets of clothes in all sorts of styles. She had even learned to design a few outfits herself, but they were all for Chu Fan.

Just then, Yan Jiuxuan traversed the leafless peach trees from a distance, arriving before the bamboo house.

However, her expression was grim.

Seeing this, Yun Xi’s heart skipped a beat.

"Sister Xuan, did something happen? Is Chu Fan in danger?"

Yan Jiuxuan shook her head. "The Teleportation Array... it’s destroyed."

"What?" Yun Xi shot to her feet, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.

Yan Jiuxuan patted her shoulder comfortingly. "Don’t worry. The Teleportation Array being destroyed only means people from the outside can’t get into the Secret Realm. Once the three-year limit is up, he’ll be expelled from it."

"But why would the Teleportation Array just be destroyed for no reason?"

"I don’t know either. I knew you were sick with worry because Chu Fan hasn’t returned, so I’ve been going to the Teleportation Point every day. Today, I specifically dove down into the Ancient Pool, only to find the Teleportation Point had been destroyed. As for the reason, I can’t even begin to guess."

In truth, Yan Jiuxuan felt a profound sense of uncertainty herself. She had intended for Chu Fan to enter the Secret Realm to gain some opportunities as a way of repaying his help.

Who could have known such an accident would occur?

’If the three-year limit passes and Chu Fan doesn’t come out, how will I ever explain it to Yun Xi?’

"Take me to see it!" Yun Xi fought back her tears, refusing to let them fall.

"Alright!"

Yan Jiuxuan agreed, then shot into the air, with Yun Xi following close behind.

Before long, they arrived at the edge of the Ancient Pool. Yun Xi was in no mood to admire the scenery; the two of them sank directly to the bottom.

The Teleportation Stone, carved with the Array, had been smashed to pieces.

"Can we piece the stones back together?" Yun Xi asked.

"It’s useless."

Back in Peach Blossom Valley, Yun Xi locked herself in her room. If she hadn’t remembered what Chu Fan once made her promise, she didn’t know what foolish thing she might have done.

She had promised Chu Fan that even if everyone said he was dead, as long as she hadn’t seen his body, she had to believe in a miracle.

Besides, three years wasn’t that long, and half a year had already passed.

"Chu Fan, you have to come back. You still haven’t gotten your revenge! In this world, you’re all I have left. I can’t lose you."

After muttering these words, Yun Xi was filled with self-blame. ’If I were also in the Nascent Soul Realm, couldn’t I have accompanied Chu Fan into the Secret Realm?’

And so, in the days that followed, she began to cultivate like a madwoman.

Yan Jiuxuan didn’t understand the feelings between men and women, nor did she know how to comfort her. As for stopping her, that was even more out of the question.

She could only watch over her quietly from the side, preventing Yun Xi from suffering a qi deviation and Falling into Demon out of sheer desperation.

The days passed one by one. Two years after Chu Fan had entered the Secret Realm, Yun Xi finally broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm, a feat largely thanks to the Spiritual Qi on Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain being far more abundant than in the outside world.

But even after reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, she didn’t stop. Instead, she continued to cultivate with painstaking diligence.

’There’s still one year left. I have to work even harder. When Chu Fan comes back, I’ll follow him wherever he goes. Even if we die, we’ll die together.’

As far as the Sects of the Eastern Domain Cultivation Realm were concerned, Chu Fan and Yun Xi had died on Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain on the eighth day of the twelfth month of that year.

Over the past two years, many things had happened in the Eastern Domain.

After Chong Ming sacrificed himself to invoke the Technique at Stone Pillar Peak on Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, the world’s Spiritual Qi began to recover.

As time passed, the Spiritual Qi grew more and more abundant.

In addition to the revival and increasing abundance of Spiritual Qi, it seemed as if everyone’s innate talent in this world had also received a boost.

Even in the mortal world, there were many ordinary people who went to sleep one night and woke up the next day to find their strength had multiplied several times over.

Many disciples newly recruited by the Sects found it easy to complete their Foundation Establishment.

As for other Cultivators, their progress during Cultivation was also much faster than before.

Everyone knew the world had changed.

For Cultivators, this might be the dawn of a great era, a grand opportunity not seen in ten thousand years.

For a time, many new Sects were established in the Eastern Domain.

Some of these Sects were founded by groups of Independent Cultivators, some were created by Cultivators who had broken away from existing Sects, and some were simply branch Sects established by larger organizations.

At first, the Sects were relatively restrained, merely competing quietly for disciples and resources.

Later on, they started fighting directly. Whoever was stronger would obtain more resources.

Not only that, but of the thirteen small kingdoms in the Eastern Domain, ten were now under the protection of Sects from the Six Sects and Eight Gates. The condition was that these Sects could preach within the kingdom, and the kingdom could in turn send disciples to join the Sect.

Thus, the Eastern Domain descended into an era of chaos.

Fortunately, the Six Sects and Eight Gates remained somewhat restrained and avoided major conflicts with one another. However, the old agreement that Cultivators would not enter the mortal world or interfere in its affairs was completely torn to shreds.

But the Red Blood Mansion, which had grown strong through tyranny and plunder since its founding, completely let itself off the leash.

They had already been fighting for a considerable amount of resources before, but now they went even further, coercing the Da Zhao Kingdom and the Dongning Kingdom to conquer other small, neighboring kingdoms to seize their land and resources.

Because of this, the Red Blood Mansion came into conflict with several Sects from the Six Sects and Eight Gates.

However, due to the Red Blood Mansion’s ruthlessness, and because the thousands of years of heritage had made the Six Sects and Eight Gates more moderate and less daring, the Sects that clashed with the Red Blood Mansion all suffered considerable losses.

Adding to that the previous battle between the Red Blood Mansion and the Wuji Sect, which had left the Wuji Sect completely devastated, the Six Sects and Eight Gates didn’t dare to risk an all-out fight when encountering the Red Blood Mansion. They were afraid that other Sects would reap the rewards of their conflict.

This, in turn, caused the Red Blood Mansion to become even more arrogant.

Seeing the Red Blood Mansion grow stronger step by step, the Six Sects and Eight Gates certainly couldn’t just sit by and wait for their doom.

The Tengxing Grand Assembly, which was supposed to be held every five years but was now defunct in all but name, was scheduled to be held at the Cyan Cloud Sect in three months, thanks to the mediation of Lin Kangbo from the Mixed Element Sect.

This time, it wasn’t just the Six Sects and Eight Gates; they also invited some second and third-rate Sects that were not affiliated with the Red Blood Mansion to participate.

Furthermore, the rewards for this Tengxing Grand Assembly were the most lavish they had been in several hundred years.

Ostensibly, they were holding the Tengxing Grand Assembly, but in reality, they were planning to discuss how to unite against the Red Blood Mansion. Otherwise, if things continued to develop this way, the Red Blood Mansion would likely pick them all off, one by one.