Chapter 392: Honest Child
A plan to rapidly enhance their overall strength was perfectly executed by Chen Pingping in the most straightforward and brutal manner.
Hongxiu had to admit he was right.
If she had been the one to handle it, achieving such an effect would have taken at least decades.
Sigh!
Thinking of this, Hongxiu couldn’t help but feel frustrated. She asked Zhuge Wushuang, who was beside her, "Do you think I look similar to Pingping?"
"..."
"I always feel like we’re actual siblings. What do you think?" This time, Hongxiu, the Sect Master, didn’t even care about saving face.
Mo Wuwei calmed down and began to analyze the situation. "Chen is right."
The site selection and the guidance—both steps were executed very well.
Due to its peculiar nature, the City of Extinction was sealed off from the outside world, allowing them to cultivate in secret. Once their strength increased, it wouldn’t be too late for them to emerge.
Secondly, there was Chen Pingping’s method of guidance; this direct approach was best for stimulating one’s potential.
Mo Wuwei believed that within a short year, at least one hundred of the over one thousand sect disciples would step into the King Tao realm.
As for the Imperial Tao realm, he wasn’t certain.
"Yes!" Zhuge Wushuang took a deep breath. "We must seize this opportunity."
Heh!
Hongxiu scoffed, "That idiot told Li Qi to go out and establish a sect entrance, and now he’s preparing to plunder others’ cultivation resources and seize their territories. Do you really think we’ll have time to cultivate?"
The others were speechless. "..."
...
The sunlight was perfect, bright and inviting.
A group of young disciples from the Golden Sun Sect, led by one of their elders, arrived in the vicinity of the City of Extinction.
From several miles away, the elder pointed towards the City of Extinction and began his introduction. "The former site of Fairy Valley is right here. The story of this place is long, involving Fairy Valley’s first ancestor, Yu Changfeng..."
Hearing the name Yu Changfeng, all the young people looked up, their gazes fixed on the City of Extinction.
Those born in the Southern Diaspora had grown up listening to the tales of Yu Changfeng: three times he failed in Tao Verification, and once he failed while attempting to forge a Heaven Tao Divine Weapon.
But he never gave up.
His story was often used as inspirational material by the older generation to teach young people the importance of striving, never giving up, and not losing heart, regardless of the difficulties they faced.
Many ordinary people might have only heard Yu Changfeng’s story but had never visited this area. If they hadn’t embarked on the path of cultivation, they might never have seen the City of Extinction in their entire lives.
Now, they had finally arrived.
A young man, his face flushed red from the sun, couldn’t help but ask, "Elder, I heard that the City of Extinction has become a Life Prohibited Zone. Is that true?"
"Yes!" the elder affirmed, his voice solemn. "Yu Changfeng failed Tao Verification three times, and the heavens unleashed a terrible catastrophe that obliterated this place. Tens of thousands of years have passed, yet the Heavenly Dao’s Power of Destruction still lingers. This is the primary reason Fairy Valley relocated. Furthermore, besides the Heavenly Dao’s Power of Destruction, numerous other strange powers exist here. Thus, for tens of thousands of years, almost no one has dared to set foot in this place."
"What kind of strange powers?" the young man pressed.
"Curses, ill omens, taboos, and the like. There are even rumors that every night, intermittent weeping can be heard from deep within the City of Extinction," the elder stated, his voice grave. "I brought you here this time primarily to let you understand what Yu Changfeng endured. Although he failed Tao Verification three times, he never gave up. From ancient times to the present, few people have possessed such immense perseverance."
Upon hearing these words, all the young people turned pale. As they looked at the City of Extinction before them, their eyes filled with dread.
The elder continued, "Yu Changfeng was unlucky. During his first attempt at Tao Verification, someone else seized the Heavenly Dao’s opportune moment before him. The same happened during his second attempt. His third attempt coincided with an invasion by the Demon Race armies..."
"Eh? Elder, is it really true that no one dares to set foot in the City of Extinction?" a young man in white robes asked at this moment.
"Of course!" The elder, not at all annoyed by the interruption, explained amiably, "This place is terrifying, and there are few opportunities to be found. Therefore, not many dare to tread here."
"But I see someone over there," the white-robed young man said, pointing.
Hmm?
The elder looked up and also spotted the figure within the City of Extinction. He paused for a moment, surprised.
That figure was hauling timber, then began digging trenches, placed the timber within them, and started to fashion a signboard...
Every step was performed with meticulous care.
It took a full ten minutes for the group from the Golden Sun Sect to snap back to their senses.
This wasn’t a dream; it was real.
Even the elder found it incredible. How could someone dare to enter the City of Extinction and move about so freely?
He slowly approached.
Three thousand meters, one thousand meters, eight hundred meters, five hundred, three hundred...
HISS!
When the Elder saw the person’s face clearly—it was a young man—he couldn’t help but gasp.
What was terrifying was that the Power of Destruction, the Strange Power, and the Power of Curse all still permeated the City of Extinction...
Yet, this young man moved about freely, as if those fearsome powers had no effect on him whatsoever.
Just then, Li Qi looked up and saw the group from the Golden Sun Sect. He froze for a second as two words unconsciously surfaced in his mind: Powerful experts?
Before they had come to the Nine Heavens, He Yitian had constantly nagged in his ear, saying that the Southern Diaspora was teeming with powerful experts, and any random person one might encounter could be at the Lord realm.
He had even said that with their current strength, going to the Southern Diaspora would be no different from seeking death.
The thought made Li Qi freeze completely.
Escape? Or not?
A Lord realm expert could probably kill me with ease, right?
However, that elder doesn’t seem to harbor any killing intention.
The elder stared at the signboard, then at the erected wooden posts, his eyes wide. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"Setting up a Sect gate," Li Qi replied instinctively.
"Who told you to set it up?"
"My Master."
"Who is your Master?"
"Chen Pingping."
Chen Pingping... The elder felt a chill crawl up his spine.
The City of Extinction, untouched by outsiders for tens of thousands of years, was now home to someone named Chen Pingping. Is he planning to reside here? the elder wondered.
No! His gaze fell upon the characters on the signboard: Wuji Sect.
Heavens! Chen Pingping intends to establish a Sect here?
The elder felt as though he were suffocating.
A young man behind him asked, "Where are you from? Aren’t you afraid of the City of Extinction? How can you be here?"
Er... After a moment’s thought, Li Qi answered, "We are from Heaven Martial."
Heaven Martial? What’s Heaven Martial?
The group of disciples was thoroughly confused.
The elder, however, was even more shocked. He knew of Heaven Martial: a colossal prison that had once held exiled criminals. It was unimaginable! Someone from that prison is now claiming the City of Extinction and planning to establish a Sect here?
This... Isn’t this far too audacious?
However, the elder noticed something: this young man before him seemed remarkably straightforward.
Narrowing his eyes, he asked, "What realm is your Master Chen Pingping at?"
"Imperial Tao!" Li Qi answered earnestly.
Oh, oh, oh! The elder chuckled. Indeed, a straightforward lad.
But the next moment, his laughter died. An Imperial Tao realm cultivator can ignore the bizarre powers of the City of Extinction? There’s something fishy here.
If we could uncover the secret behind this, perhaps our Golden Sun Sect could also enter the City of Extinction!
Thinking this, the elder smiled faintly and said, "Young man, could you step out for a moment so I can get a better look at you?"