Chapter 225 - 222: Establishing a Sect
As it turned out, Shen Changchuan’s earlier decision to back down and avoid getting drawn into the vortex at the Wu Family Collection had been the right one.
The reason news took three days to spread after the cataclysmic event, despite the location being only about three hundred miles from the Wu Family Collection, was simple.
During the clash between the Seven Extremes Old Demon and Master Wandering Dragon, eighty percent of the Cultivators gathered near the Wu Family Collection were wiped out!
The battle between these supreme experts was nothing short of world-ending!
The mere aftershocks from their clash had turned the land within a ten-mile radius into a veritable forbidden zone of death!
An untold number of Cultivators were pulverized in that single instant.
And those lucky enough to survive the initial blast weren’t much better off.
They were either severely wounded or on the verge of death.
Thankfully, the two titans only exchanged a single blow before some unknown event caused them to enter an Alternate Space within the Ancient Grotto Heaven Ruins, where they continued their battle.
Otherwise, it’s doubtful that any Cultivators within a hundred-mile radius would have survived!
But even so,
it took three days for the heavily wounded Qi Introduction Realm Cultivators to recover just enough to retreat from the "front lines" and bring back this sensational news.
’Good thing I wasn’t too greedy. I didn’t get cocky and try to fight others for scattered treasures, getting myself sucked into that vortex...’
’If I’d still been nearby when that clash erupted, I doubt my fate would have been a pleasant one!’
After receiving the detailed news,
a wave of relief washed over Shen Changchuan.
It was thanks to his caution and refusal to get easily involved that he had managed to escape disaster.
However, events had unfolded in a way that completely defied Shen Changchuan’s expectations.
He had originally predicted that as time went on, Cultivators of the Soul Emergence Realm would gather one by one. The Wu Family Collection would then become a battleground for True Cultivators of Soul Emergence, making the entire vicinity fraught with danger.
But in the end,
the massive free-for-all between True Cultivators of Soul Emergence never happened.
Instead, the real heavy hitters from an even higher level made their move!
That’s right.
Both the Seven Extremes Old Demon,
and Master Wandering Dragon, were titans of the highest order!
The Seven Extremes Old Demon had made his name two hundred years ago, rampaging across the Nanyue Immortal Cultivation World. His mastery of the Demon Dao was said to be all-powerful.
Over the years, his demonic might had become overwhelming, and his fearsome reputation was known even in neighboring domains.
And Master Wandering Dragon was by no means his inferior.
The so-called Seven Immortal Sect Sons of the Yuqing Immortal Sect were the seven Disciples in the entire sect who had reached the Divine Travel Peak Realm. They possessed the greatest combat strength and had the highest chance of becoming a Master Profound Pill!
Every single one of these seven was an absolute genius, a Demon!
So long as no Master Profound Pill intervened,
they practically reigned supreme over the Immortal Cultivation Realm!
They were the ones with the greatest hope of reaching the very pinnacle of this world’s Immortal Cultivation.
For figures of this caliber,
either one of them,
could stir up terrifying waves and draw the attention of countless eyes with their every move!
’I originally thought this would only attract True Cultivators of the Soul Emergence Realm, but I never expected it to draw out beings from the Divine Travel Realm—and titans of that caliber, no less. Hiss... what kind of secret is hidden at the Wu Family Collection? For even beings like them to personally enter the fray!’
As he carefully analyzed the information he had received,
even Shen Changchuan couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.
He had good reason for his reaction.
To put it in perspective,
the Shen Clan’s sole Divine Travel Realm expert was their Ancestor. The Shen Family Ancestor had always been the pillar of the clan, the very reason the Shen Clan could lay claim to a territory of ten thousand square miles.
To all the disciples of the Shen Clan, he was practically a god-like figure.
Yet if the Shen Family Ancestor stood before those two,
he would be utterly insignificant!
They were the true titans of the cultivation world!
If either the Seven Extremes Old Demon or Master Wandering Dragon wished it,
they could instantly establish a power far superior to the Tian Nan Shen Clan!
The sheer gravity of their power,
was easy to imagine!
’The gap in power is just too vast... If this were limited to the Soul Emergence Realm, with my current strength, I might have had a chance to navigate the situation... but now...’
Shen Changchuan sighed inwardly and shook his head.
The way things had developed,
this was no longer a game he could play.
The leap in power was too great. His own meager strength wouldn’t even cause a ripple.
All he could do was be swept along by the current.
And so,
for the first time in a long while,
Shen Changchuan once again felt that familiar, helpless despair.
It was the same feeling he’d had when facing the Demon Cultivator of the Soul Emergence Realm.
And it was even more potent now, as he contemplated the supreme experts of the Divine Travel Realm who stood far above!
’Forget it. There’s no use dwelling on this.’
’For now, I should just focus on increasing my own strength as much as possible!’
Shaking his head,
Shen Changchuan pushed all these thoughts to the back of his mind.
There was no point in dwelling on them.
Instead of worrying about this and that all day, he was better off focusing on his own affairs and working hard to improve his strength.
That way, if chaos truly did erupt, he would have a better foundation to face it.
And so,
after tasking his maternal grandfather, Han Qinhu, with gathering as much news as possible from the outside world and keeping a close watch on any developments,
Shen Changchuan turned his focus to increasing his own power.
’How can I increase my strength as much as possible?’
Shen Changchuan wondered.
When it came to increasing one’s power,
besides one’s Cultivation Realm,
there were only two other avenues: Magic and Magical Artifacts.
Raising his Cultivation Realm would take time.
Even with Middle Grade Spirit Stones, it would require at least two or three months of hard work.
As for Magic,
he did have an advantage: his "progress bar panel" cheat and the experience with related Traits he had accumulated from mastering numerous Perfection Level spells. This was where his advantage lay.
The problem was that ordinary Magic—or any Magic weaker than his Cyan Wood Sword Light—would offer him virtually no improvement even if he cultivated it!
The destructive power of the Cyan Wood Sword Light was simply too great.
If an enemy couldn’t be dealt with by an Instantaneous Cyan Wood Sword Light, his other Magic would be useless as well.
Not unless he could obtain a more powerful, High Level Magic.
But unfortunately,
in the barren Immortal Cultivation Realm of the Border Desolate Forest, that was just a pipe dream.
’In that case, my only option is to focus on Magical Artifacts.’
As he mulled this over, Shen Changchuan quickly thought of something.
With a flip of his hand,
a Bronze Bell appeared, floating above his palm. It rotated silently, emitting a clear light.
’According to Shen Zeyu’s memories, this is a Treasure Artifact, something so powerful that even a True Cultivator of the Soul Emergence Realm might not own one!’
’Although it was on loan from the madam, I can’t worry about that right now.’
Shen Changchuan’s gaze grew profound.
An image flashed through his mind: Shen Zeyu activating the bell’s power and instantly killing the three Ninth Layer Peak leaders of the three great powers with a single strike.
If he could complete its Refinement, his own strength would rise to a new level in a short amount of time!
Without a moment’s hesitation,
he began pouring his Magical Power into it, beginning the process of Refinement and control.
Time flew by.
Three more days passed.
Shen Changchuan successfully completed the Refinement of the Bronze Bell.
However,
on that very day,
a clear and ethereal voice, like that of an Immortal God, seemed to pierce through the heavens and the earth, echoing across the entire land:
"I, Master Wandering Dragon, hereby establish the Dragon Cloud Sect on this day. Let all corners of the world be witness!"