Chapter 396 : Returning to the Southern Wasteland
Chapter 396: Returning to the Southern Wasteland
“Mom, I just got home. I haven’t even warmed the sofa yet, so why did you suddenly bring this up?” Chen Beiwu was somewhat speechless.
His divine sense and spiritual perception were extremely sharp, allowing him to understand the worries and desires in his mother’s heart.
However, Chen Beiwu’s determination toward the Dao was firm. Proving the Dao as a Nascent Soul True Monarch was far from the end of his cultivation journey.
On the contrary, his goal was the Divine Transformation True Venerable Realm, and even the legendary, ethereal Void Refinement Realm where one controlled an entire Dao.
Compared to proving longevity, achieving eternal freedom, and attaining great transcendence, passing down his bloodline now would only distract him.
“It’s not sudden. Your mother has been bringing this up for nearly thirty years.”
Mrs. Huang Xiaoling sighed.
“Your Uncle Li next door carries his great-grandchild around the street every day. Now look at your mother. Forget a great-grandchild, I haven’t even seen the shadow of a daughter-in-law.”
Hearing this, Chen Beiwu looked toward his father.
Chen Dong shook his head and pointed toward Iron Egg, who had entered while carrying a fruit platter above its head, indicating that he was also helpless.
Although he was an impressive County Master of Pingchen County outside, within this household, his status could possibly be even lower than that of a dog.
After all, the dog was his life-saving benefactor.
“I’m about to prove the Dao as a True Monarch. For now, I have no thoughts of forming a Dao companion.”
Seeing that his father was of no help, Chen Beiwu could only decisively refuse.
As expected, Mrs. Huang Xiaoling immediately exploded. Her gentle smile instantly turned into an angry expression.
“What’s wrong with just meeting once? I’ll arrange this matter!”
“Wife, arranging twenty at once is really too many. Beiwu won’t even be able to look at them all.”
Chen Dong’s tone carried a hint of sourness.
“How about arranging them one by one?”
“Get out of the way. I’ll decide this matter.”
Huang Xiaoling waved her hand, signaling Chen Dong to leave.
“Let’s eat first. It has been a long time since we sat together for a meal.”
Chen Beiwu directly ended the topic.
Knowing her son’s thoughts, Huang Xiaoling agreed on the surface, but secretly began calculating.
In terms of family status, she ranked first because both her husband and son rarely managed household matters.
But in terms of authority within the family, there was no doubt that her son Beiwu held the highest position. A single sentence from him could decide many matters.
If Beiwu had truly made up his mind, she really had no way around it and could only rely on secret encounters and introductions.
“By the way, Shouhe No. 2 High School is holding a school anniversary recently and plans to invite you as a guest speaker.”
After the meal, Chen Dong took out an invitation card.
“Help me decline it. I came home to enjoy some peace and quiet.”
Chen Beiwu refused without hesitation.
Chen Dong nodded, not surprised.
Beiwu had never been the type who liked showing off.
There was no helping it. As the County Master, he could only continue serving as the school anniversary guest speaker, giving a speech titled ‘How to Cultivate a Golden Core Genius from Childhood’.
Wait, if Beiwu successfully proved the Dao as a True Monarch in the future, perhaps the title of his speech would need to be changed again.
‘On How a Qi Refining Cultivator Cultivated a Nascent Soul True Monarch!’
Thinking of this title, Chen Dong revealed a satisfied smile.
Although he clearly knew that Beiwu’s current achievements had little to do with him, it did not stop Chen Dong from boasting about his educational experience outside.
Chen Beiwu had Zhi Ling and Xue Le meet his parents, recognize each other, and then returned to the cultivation chamber. He hung up a sign that read ‘Cultivating in Seclusion, Do Not Disturb’.
“Why did he enter seclusion right after returning?”
Huang Xiaoling looked at the sign and helplessly took out her phone.
“Hello, hello, is this Li Yao?”
“The one hundred girls we previously contacted should pause for now. Wait until I send you information before taking action.”
“Also, I think the one hundred carefully selected noble young ladies might be a little too few. There’s no guarantee Beiwu will take a liking to them.
How about expanding the selection range? Female cultivators with good character, aptitude, appearance, and temperament, regardless of whether they are graceful or slender, please help me find another one hundred. Yes, that’s right. The larger the number, the more likely one will catch his eye.”
Inside the cultivation chamber, Chen Beiwu speechlessly rubbed his brows.
Good heavens, if his mother continued like this, what was the difference between this and selecting an imperial harem for him?
However, considering that he had been immersed in cultivation all these years and had barely spent time with his family, he did not feel right continuing to reject her forcefully.
Forget it, forget it. The female cultivators of Pingchen County were not foolish either. They understood the importance of being well-matched in status and would not lose their heads.
But to prevent his mother from continuing her efforts, he still needed to find a shield.
Xu Ziqing, this confidante of his, was a good choice. He could discuss it with her.
However, before obtaining her agreement, Chen Beiwu would not recklessly reveal even the slightest hint.
“Why don’t you let me be the shield?”
A childish voice suddenly sounded beside Chen Beiwu’s ear.
Looking at Zhi Ling’s serious expression, Chen Beiwu almost lost his composure.
Was this sudden idea from Zhi Ling meant to help him or create more trouble?
“You’re still a child. What kind of shield could you be?”
Chen Beiwu decisively refused. Then his expression became serious as he looked at Zhi Ling.
“By the way, there is something I have never explained to you in detail.”
Zhi Ling’s eyelashes trembled as she revealed a curious expression.
She had long known that Chen Beiwu possessed secrets. Now, the day of uncovering them had finally arrived.
“I discovered an Outer Domain world and have grasped a passage leading to that Outer Domain world.”
Chen Beiwu spoke solemnly.
“Ah?”
Zhi Ling tilted her little head, revealing an incredulous expression.
“Na!” (Isn’t that outrageous!)
Xue Le walked to Zhi Ling’s side and spoke softly.
Zhi Ling shook her head, looking surprised.
She had thought Chen Beiwu was hiding an astonishing secret such as being the reincarnation of a Dao Venerable or having been possessed and reborn by a giant cultivator. She never expected that he had merely discovered an Outer Domain world.
What was there to hide about that? She herself controlled a miniature cave-heaven world.
If the Seven-Tailed Purple Fox Clan could break through the shackles of their bloodline and reach the Eight-Tailed Void Fox Realm, they could even open and create a Minor Thousand World.
Besides that, she had also heard her mother mention that the Immortal Alliance could lock onto and discover several spatial anchor points of Outer Domain worlds every few hundred years.
Secrets of this level were actually nothing worth making a fuss over.
Chen Beiwu: “……”
A little princess born into nobility was indeed different.
Understanding that Zhi Ling did not consider it important, Chen Beiwu’s many prepared explanations all became stuck in his throat, transforming into a calm smile.
“However, don’t worry. Since we agreed to keep it secret, I will definitely do so.”
Zhi Ling drew a line across her mouth with her right claw, guaranteeing that she would strictly keep the secret and reveal no information externally.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you there to have a look. I also haven’t been there for a long time.”
Chen Beiwu put away Zhi Ling and activated the Gate of Ten Directions.
……
Southern Wasteland, border of Earth Evolution Realm.
A secluded cave residence.
Chen Beiwu’s figure silently appeared.
‘Hm? Someone has been here!’
Chen Beiwu slightly frowned.
Reaching peak Golden Core was difficult and required a long period of secluded cultivation. After leaving the sect back then, Chen Beiwu had headed directly toward the Northern Evolution Realm of the Southern Wasteland Domain.
Unlike the eight realms of the Southern Wasteland, the Northern Evolution Realm was the only world not controlled by human cultivators but instead completely ruled by beast forces. Human cultivators were extremely rare there.
As a Beast-Taming cultivator entering a place filled with countless beasts, he could not only reasonably conceal his travel experiences but also explain the abnormalities on his body through hunting beasts and obtaining heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
He had not expected that the crude cave residence he casually arranged back then would actually have a cultivator enter without breaking through the formation.
“Interesting. They only left not long ago, about three hours.”
Chen Beiwu’s gaze turned toward the edge of an inconspicuous stone crack on the right.
There were several barely noticeable traces of blood there.
Chen Beiwu pointed a finger. His divine sense moved slightly, and a faint trace of blood aura fell into his palm, forming a small drop of dark-red blood.
The aura contained within the blood made Chen Beiwu feel somewhat familiar.
“Female cultivator, height one meter seventy, weight sixty-five kilograms, early-stage Golden Core cultivation, practicing the Profound Nether Pagoda Scripture, lightly injured, intentionally leaving blood traces to appear weak and counter-kill the pursuer.”
Thoughts flashed through Chen Beiwu’s mind, and he quickly deduced the approximate information based on the aura.
“Forget it. Since she is one of my Mirror Moon Sect members, I should go take a look, lest this Golden Core True Person fail to counter-kill and be slain by the enemy.”
Chen Beiwu’s mind moved slightly.
If nothing unexpected happened, he would eventually become the Mirror Moon Sect Master.
Since that was the case, this Mirror Moon Golden Core cultivator would become a Golden Core subordinate under him in the future, capable of increasing his fortune slightly.
Accumulated little by little, it would still count as a considerable amount of fortune. It was worth saving her out of fellow disciple relations, while also investigating the current situation of the sect.
“Hum!”
The Jade Spirit Ring flashed faintly, and Zhi Ling’s figure quietly appeared.
“What a strange world!!!”
The moment Zhi Ling appeared, she immediately sensed the abnormalities of this world.
In her perception, the spiritual energy permeating this world was excessively dense, inconsistent with normal circumstances.
Besides that, her process of drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was not only several times more efficient, even her Mystic Abilities could unleash several times their normal power.
This situation indicated that the world’s origin had suffered damage, its laws were incomplete, and it could no longer maintain the balance and circulation of spiritual energy. It was incapable of nurturing true powerhouses.
“This is a Middle Thousand World with damaged origins? There is no Divine Transformation True Venerable alive, and the strongest cultivator is a Nascent Soul True Monarch!”
After making this deduction, Zhi Ling could not help but reveal joy in her eyes.
A Middle Thousand World without a Divine Transformation True Venerable guarding it. Wouldn’t that mean it was a world where she and Beiwu could freely seize resources?!
“Wake up. This Great Thousand World once produced a Void Refinement Dao Venerable. It is not as simple as you imagine.”
Chen Beiwu tapped the little fellow awake with one finger.
“Great Thousand World? Impossible!”
Zhi Ling immediately refuted.
Although she was young, she had been influenced by her surroundings since childhood and knew many precious pieces of information.
For example, the Immortal Alliance’s World Observation Hall’s Heavenly Patrol Department classified discovered Outer Domain worlds into five levels.
The first was the Constant Sand World. These worlds had thin origins, incomplete spiritual energy, and existed in enormous numbers like grains of sand in the Ganges River. Being able to nurture a Golden Core True Person was already their limit.
Usually, their strongest cultivators were mostly Foundation Establishment cultivators. Some might not even possess cultivators and instead be technological planets.
The second was the Minor Thousand World. These worlds had just separated Yin and Yang, spiritual veins transforming into dragons, and possessed many naturally born spiritual objects.
Under extreme circumstances, they could nurture existences at the level of Nascent Soul True Monarchs. But normally, their strongest cultivators were Golden Core True Persons, and it was rare for them to produce peerless geniuses who reached the True Monarch Realm.
The third was the Middle Thousand World. Such worlds possessed abundant origins, with laws and spiritual energy circulating naturally. They could produce Divine Transformation True Venerables with Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown and Five Qi Facing the Origin.
Some special Middle Thousand Worlds could even give rise to terrifying existences who had half-stepped into the Dao Venerable Realm, though such cases were one in ten thousand.
The fourth was the Great Thousand World. In such worlds, the origin of the Great Dao had already manifested into reality. Thirty-three layers of Heavenly Astral covered the four directions, forty-four layers of Earthly Fiend connected the Netherworld, and there existed Void Refinement Dao Venerables who controlled the authority of the Great Dao. Even great cultivators half a step into the Immortal Realm could appear.
The fifth was the Sole Immortal Realm. Such Immortal Realms were the source of all worlds and the starting point of the heavens. They possessed Immortals who transcended the river of fate and endured countless tribulations without decay. They were also the Immortal Realms countless cultivators sought throughout their lives in their pursuit of ascension.
Among these five major world levels, the Immortal Alliance’s Tianyuan Star only ranked at the fourth level, belonging to the Great Thousand World category rather than the Sole Immortal Realm.
One should not underestimate this ranking. Although the Sole Immortal Realm was classified by the Immortal Alliance’s Heavenly Patrol Department as the strongest world, there had never been any evidence proving its actual existence.
Among all Great Thousand Worlds, the Immortal Alliance was undoubtedly in the first tier and was recognized by Immortal Alliance cultivators as the strongest Great Thousand World.
The reason was simple. Throughout the Immortal Alliance’s long history, the Great Thousand Worlds it had conquered were not merely one or two, but exceeded the number of fingers on one hand.
From this, one could see how rare and powerful Great Thousand Worlds were.
Now Chen Beiwu claimed that this Middle Thousand World was a ruined Great Thousand World. The Seven-Tailed Purple Fox truly found it difficult to believe.
With a Void Refinement Dao Venerable-level existence organizing the world’s origin laws, a Great Thousand World could not possibly fall in rank and deteriorate into such a state.
“Don’t you believe me?” Chen Beiwu asked in return.
“Of course I believe you.”
Zhi Ling quickly reacted, looking at Chen Beiwu with moved eyes.
No wonder Beiwu had never made up his mind to form a contract with her. It turned out that behind him was a Great Thousand World.
The value of a Great Thousand World was extraordinary. Even a ruined Great Thousand World could not be ignored by a Void Refinement Dao Venerable.
Using this world as a foundation, combined with Beiwu’s aptitude, he might have hope of becoming a Dao Venerable in the future.
Damn it, Beiwu could even share such a secret with her, yet she had not taken him seriously at the beginning.
“This place is called the Southern Wasteland. It is only part of this world, not the entirety of it. There may still be existences at the level of Void Refinement Dao Venerables reincarnating and cultivating again. Neither you nor I can underestimate it.”
After reminding Zhi Ling and making the little fellow understand the importance, Chen Beiwu looked toward the direction where the blood aura had disappeared.
Zhi Ling solemnly nodded. She activated her innate Mystic Ability, Void-Stepping Fur Escape, and transformed into a purple streak of light carrying Chen Beiwu through the sky.
……
On the other side, above the desolate mountain range.
Two rays of escaping light streaked rapidly across the sky, one ahead and one behind.
The black profound escaping light in front appeared domineering in aura, but was actually somewhat disordered. Its radiance flickered unpredictably, clearly already approaching the end of its strength.
For the sake of caution, Chen Beiwu did not directly interfere. Instead, he concealed his aura and activated his divine sense to investigate.
After all, this matter was far too coincidental, and the Southern Wasteland cultivation world was far too dangerous. Being more cautious was always safer and would prevent him from falling into a scheme.
Within the escaping light was a beautiful female cultivator dressed in black robes. Her cloud-like hair was disheveled, and a trace of fresh blood remained at the corner of her mouth. Yet her eyes showed no fear in the face of danger, instead carrying a hint of determination.
“It’s actually her!”
Chen Beiwu was somewhat surprised.
He did not know whether to say this fellow disciple was lucky or simply too unlucky to have encountered him.
Even if she ultimately succeeded in counter-killing her pursuer, it would still have been a situation of surviving nine deaths from ten.
And two hundred zhang behind the female cultivator, a pitch-black escaping light continued chasing relentlessly.
“You cannot escape. Surrender obediently, and this seat can still spare your life, allowing you to remain by my side and properly serve me.”
The handsome male cultivator placed both hands behind his back, revealing a delighted smile.
“Otherwise, once this seat captures you, I will make sure you cannot seek survival or death, and force you to experience the suffering of having your soul extracted and refined!”