Chapter 124, Chapter 10: The Sickly Beauty of the Cultivation World
Amidst this uproar, the underlying news was that some powerful sects and families had been wiped out overnight.
While these sects and families were being wiped out, Xu Qingzhou was doing something else in a high-profile manner in another place.
Xu Qingzhou is causing trouble, indiscriminately blaming the righteous and the demonic.
He's making things unbearable for both sides.
He would hold back against the righteous faction, at most beating them half to death.
But against the demonic path, every move is deadly; every time he strikes, he leaves a demonic cultivator with his life.
In this situation, no one would suspect that he had accomplices.
The blame for the annihilation of those sects and aristocratic families naturally wouldn't fall on his head.
People who are capable of producing all things would probably be furious.
Xu Qingzhou is far too high-profile and infuriating.
So much so that no one noticed, wherever he was, the spiritual energy dissipated more slowly, and the disaster was quelled.
When his messages came at a slower pace and he changed locations less frequently.
Yu Wanwan knew that he must have discovered the problem.
It's just unclear how much he knows, and whether his little broken system will give him a heads-up.
Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Over the past decade, people in the cultivation world have become accustomed to Xu Qingzhou's sudden change in style.
When I see him again, I won't be surprised anymore.
Ten years ago, a Transcending Tribulation Ancestor was alarmed and came out to exchange blows with Xu Qingzhou.
That battle caused the heavens and earth to change color, and Xu Qingzhou broke through on the spot, stepping into the Tribulation Transcending stage.
Since then, no one has dared to cause him any trouble.
Xu Qingzhou, after breaking through to the Tribulation Transcending stage, gradually disappeared from sight.
They just occasionally come out and cause some trouble.
The situation in Dongjing is getting worse. The spiritual energy is dwindling, and very few cultivators come here anymore.
For some reason, the north was not greatly affected.
A low-key yet luxurious carriage travels along a rugged path.
The person driving the carriage was a little old man with gray hair.
"Girl, I'm telling you, with your frail body, why don't you stay in Penglai and instead come out to see what's going on?"
Inside the carriage, Yu Wanwan held a hand warmer and coughed softly.
"I'm bored."
The old man was outside cursing and swearing, muttering about how she didn't value her life.
Yu Wanwan just lazily huddled in her fluffy cloak, pretending not to hear.
The old man is none other than Master Qihuang.
He was drawn to her by the herbs growing in her yard.
Upon seeing the herbs in the yard, the old man became like a man possessed, refusing to leave no matter how hard he tried, and stubbornly stayed.
Ten years have passed, and he has tried every possible way to cure her.
Master Qihuang's medical skills were indeed remarkable.
Unfortunately, this body is still alive only because of Yu Wanwan's essence.
The old man couldn't save her.
This time, she heard that a secret realm she had never seen before had suddenly appeared in Yunmengze, and she wanted to come and see it.
Qi Huang didn't know whether he was reluctant to part with her herbs or reluctant to lose her as a research sample, but he insisted on coming along.
"With your poor health and lack of cultivation, you won't be able to enter the secret realm!"
Yu Wanwan's eyes curved into a smile.
How do you know I can't get in?
"Pooh!"
The old man spat.
"Secret realms are all restricted by cultivation levels! This is common knowledge in the cultivation world! How could a mortal like you, without any cultivation, possibly enter!"
"What if there's no restriction this time?"
The old man rolled his eyes, too lazy to argue with her.
Yunmengze is a vast, beautiful, and ethereal marshland.
This place was once the place with the richest spiritual energy in the Eastern Mirror, and it was the favorite place for cultivators to train and gain experience.
If Yunmengze weren't a swamp unsuitable for habitation, those sects would probably have built their sects here.
Ten years have passed. Now, in Yunmeng Marsh, the vegetation has withered, the immortal aura has dissipated, leaving only a barren swamp, desolate and dangerous.
A considerable number of cultivators have already gathered on the outskirts.
They were dressed in the attire of various sects and factions, gathered in twos and threes, their camps clearly defined.
From afar, Yu Wanwan spotted the red and white Taoist robe of Xuan Tong Sword Sect.
Jiang Wanheng and Chu Yansheng stood at the front, waiting quietly.
Yu Wanwan's gaze fell on Chu Yansheng.
Ten years have passed, and she has now reached the Nascent Soul stage.
His face has lost its former innocence and naivety, and his temperament is now calm and composed.
Because she was the one who took the initiative to expose Xu Qingzhou's "conspiracy" back then, Xu Qingzhou's affairs did not implicate her.
It even earned her the sympathy and pity of the sect leader and others.
Unlike Jiang Wanheng, who believes in the principle of "a teacher for a day is a teacher for life".
After Xu Qingzhou left the Xuan Tong Sword Sect, Chu Yansheng became a disciple of the sect leader.
She went from being the junior sister of Wugou Peak to becoming the senior sister of Taiyi Peak.
Jiang Wanheng, on the other hand, succeeded Wugou Peak after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.
Now, he is the acting peak master of Wugou Peak.
Yu Wanwan did not go over. Instead, she and Master Qihuang stopped at the outermost edge and looked towards the center of Yunye.
That place is unlike any ordinary secret realm.
It looked as if a crack had been torn open in mid-air, and it was slowly widening.
A cultivator flew around the crack on his sword to investigate, but the crack neither attacked nor hindered him.
He tried to enter the crevice directly. Unfortunately, his figure passed right through it.
The crack was visible but intangible, as if it existed in a different space from theirs.
As time goes by, the cracks continue to widen slowly.
The cultivators below could finally see the scene inside the crack.
Inside, there were one bizarre and wonderful scene after another, some familiar, some unfamiliar, and even... people!
It's as if, behind that crack, lies another world.
The cultivators gathered in Yunmeng Marsh gradually became uneasy from their initial agitation.
Various probing spells and magical artifacts were thrown at the crack, but all the attacks, as before, sank without a trace.
Or rather, it directly passed through the secret realm and attacked the crowd standing on the other side.
The group quickly stopped their attack.
"What exactly is this thing? Is it really a secret realm?"
"The attack passed right through; could it be some kind of mirage?"
"It shouldn't be like this. If it were a mirage, the power emanating from it shouldn't be so strong and real!"
Master Qihuang also stroked his beard, lost in thought and sighed.
"Good heavens, what exactly is this thing?"
Yu Wanwan shook her head.
Let's go out and find an inn to stay in.
"Huh? You didn't want to watch the show?"
"At this speed, it won't be able to open anytime soon. Are we stupid to just wait here?"
"..."
The old man looked at the crack again and thought she made sense.
Without saying a word, he immediately drove the carriage away from the outermost edge without making a sound.
No one noticed their arrival or departure.
The old man, however, seemed oblivious to the anomaly, leisurely driving the carriage.
This is also why Yu Wanwan agreed to bring him along.
Don't let this talkative old man's seemingly unreliable appearance fool you.
But he was very sensible; he never asked questions he shouldn't have asked, nor said things he shouldn't have said.
In a sense, he was very pure.
He was solely focused on pharmacology, and nothing outside of medicine aroused his thirst for knowledge.
Just as Yu Wanwan said, it won't be long before that crack fully expands.
The cultivators waiting in Yunmeng Marsh waited for three months.
Just when they were about to give up, a strange phenomenon occurred!
The previously illusory crack suddenly trembled, causing the entire earth to shake.
The light flowing inside suddenly accelerated and became dazzling.
Even highly skilled cultivators could not look directly at that dazzling light.
As the light faded, all the images within the crack vanished, transforming into a deep, dark cave.
A simple, unadorned road, as if it possessed a life of its own, slowly extends downwards from the depths of the cave entrance.
Some people noticed that it was engraved with countless complex runes, exuding an indescribable and majestic aura.
That surface exuded the power of laws; after just one glance, blood and tears welled up in the man's eyes, and he hurriedly closed his eyes, unable to look any longer.
It gradually solidified, slowly extending towards the ground, its goal pointing directly at the withered swamp below.
"The road...the road has appeared!"
"Is this the path to the secret realm?"
"Such powerful fluctuations of laws! Whose secret realm was left behind by such a powerful being?!"
Everyone's hearts were in their throats, filled with anticipation and trepidation, their eyes fixed on the ever-extending road.
But no one dared to look directly at the runes on the road.
Inside the inn, Yu Wanwan raised her eyes.
"here we go."
The old man chewed on a chicken leg, looking bewildered.
"ah?"
Yu Wanwan didn't look at him, put down the spirit stone, and slowly walked out.
"If you want to see the excitement, it's not too late to leave now."
The old man realized what she was talking about, and hurriedly grabbed a chicken leg and followed behind her.
Finally, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the road gently, yet with unwavering stability, touched the parched earth of Yunmengze.
At the very moment the road was completed.
A buzzing sound, seemingly from the primordial chaos, resounded throughout the heavens and earth!
In the Yunmeng Marsh, the withered green grass regained its vitality and, in an instant, returned to its former state of boundless beauty and ethereal charm before the spiritual energy was exhausted.
"Is it really the entrance?"
"Yunmengze has recovered?!"
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Excitement, greed, and awe intertwined and spread.
Those powerful sects immediately organized their forces to prepare to enter the secret realm.
However, before anyone could make a move...
A long sword descended from the sky, carrying a chilling aura, and landed in front of the road.
The sword energy dispersed, blasting away the rogue cultivators who rushed forward.
As the sword energy dissipated, a white figure silently appeared directly in front of the portal.
He stood tall and immaculate, shrouded in a chilling aura of coldness and detachment.
"Ji Zhi! You dare show your face again?!"
Xu Qingzhou didn't even look at them. With a flick of his wrist, the longsword fell into his hand.
He picked up his sword and turned to step onto the path formed by runic laws.
"Don't let him in!"
A somewhat urgent voice continued to spread, making it clear to all the cultivators present.
"Have you forgotten the vision you saw in the crack and the prophecy?"
That's clearly another world!
"Perhaps this is why spiritual energy is depleted!"
"He wants the world on the other side of the rift to devour the cultivation world!"
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