Chapter 524: Chapter 513: The Sword Cultivator Father
In the boundless Dark Forest, Lin Shen was still in deep slumber, surrounded by countless dark creatures coveting his body brimming with spiritual energy, but each of their attacks was blocked by an invisible protective barrier.
Not knowing how much time had passed, he suddenly opened his eyes, immediately followed by waves of intense pain that made him inhale sharply.
"You’ve sustained serious injuries. Even though I’ve exerted all my strength, I’ve only managed to protect your Dantian and meridians. However, the power of the Dark Blue Ice Flame is still gradually corroding your body," a transparent figure appeared in front of Lin Shen, also looking very weak.
"You must heal your body quickly. There are many dark creatures here, and I can’t hold on for much longer."
"Thank you for your trouble." After saying this, Lin Shen quickly set up a Spirit Gathering Array and then began to gradually heal his injuries.
Elsewhere in the endless darkness, Ye Sheng also regained consciousness. His injuries were not light, but although the concentration of spiritual energy here was low, he had the Ancient Buddha’s Meditation Mat given to him by Ye Qiu and the countless Spirit Stones, making the healing process not too difficult.
He’s just not sure where this place is. He has been searching for many days with no exit or clues, an infinitely vast space that seemed like a forsaken land.
Years passed one after another. Ye Sheng gradually adapted to the boundless darkness. During the time here, he was either cultivating or honing his skills in Artifact Refining. Fifteen years later, when he finally reached the peak of Late-stage Foundation Establishment and attracted the Heavenly Tribulation, he knew he had a chance to leave this place.
After fifteen years, Ye Qiu had taken a Direct Disciple and one day, after passing on Hidden Sword Peak to his Disciple, he suddenly had a revelation and attracted the Divinity Transformation Thunder Tribulation.
The Canglan World is known to be the largest among the Great Thousand Worlds, and every year, many cultivators from Small Thousand Worlds and Medium Thousand Worlds ascend to it.
Today, Wuwan City, a place where powers from various factions mingle, has suddenly opened its transmission channel to the Lower Realm. However, this channel is one-way, only allowing those from the Lower Realm to ascend.
"Yo, another unfortunatesoul has come to Wuwan City, wonder if this person can make it out alive."
"Let’s go have a look; who knows, we might catch some scraps," someone suggested.
"What good stuff could a cultivator from a Small Thousand World possibly have." The speaker said this but still went along with their companion, and they were not the only ones who thought so.
What kind of place is Wuwan City? It’s a gathering ground for extremely vicious people. It’s just bad luck for whoever that ends up opening the channel to this place.
After the Thunder Tribulation, Ye Qiu felt pushed away by the Xuanyuan Realm. The channel to the Great Thousand World was opened, and he had no choice but to enter it.
"It’s a male cultivator, how boring."
"What, old ghost, would you abduct and take a female cultivator to be your wife?"
"If she’s pretty, it’s not impossible... Heh heh..." The onlookers snickered slyly, showing sinister and malevolent eyes upon seeing Ye Qiu emerge from the channel.
"Hey, kid, hand over your storage ring."
"And that sword on your back."
Little did they know until they checked, Ye Qiu was under two hundred years old, which astonished everyone. In the Canglan World, where the spiritual energy is abundant, it generally takes four to five hundred years just to cultivate to the Divinity Transformation Stage. What kind of great fortune had this person from the Lower Realm encountered?
With this thought, their eyes grew even greedier.
"Dream on." These people clearly had no good intentions, and Ye Qiu drew the long sword from his back, ready to fight without further ado.
Seeing his defiance, they grew angry. How dare a mere Early-stage God Transformation cultivator be so insolent? Clearly, he needed to be taught a lesson.
In fact, these people were only slightly more advanced in their cultivation than Ye Qiu, riding on their local advantage and superior numbers in the Canglan World—there were even two cultivators at the Late-stage Nascent Soul among them!
It seemed their upbringing in the Upper Realm had made them overly confident. Today, Ye Qiu would let them taste the might of the Lonely Swallow Sword Lord!
Two hours later, three were dead by his sword, and the rest were more or less injured. Gazing at Ye Qiu with fear in their eyes, eventually, they fled in all directions.
"Demon beasts, the Lower Realm cultivator who just arrived has cleaned up the ruffians and scoundrels of Wuwan City!" As Ye Qiu left the place, the rumor spread rapidly throughout Wuwan City.
The whole city was abuzz with discussions, curious about who this brave warrior really was. Major Sects and families began to inquire about Ye Qiu, hoping to recruit him.
A Divinity Transformation cultivator under two hundred years old, who had overpowered stronger enemies single-handedly and gained the upper hand—a genius, indeed. If nurtured well, he would undoubtedly become a core strength even among their Major Sects and great families.
But soon a disappointing rumor spread: this person was a Disciple of the Tianyan Sect.
In the Canglan World, Tianyan Sect was a colossal presence. Once Ye Qiu’s identity as its disciple was confirmed, they all abandoned the idea of recruiting him. However, there were no Tianyan Sect disciples here, and Ye Qiu would have a long journey to return to his Sect.
"Tianyan Sect is in Central State, and we are in the West Continent. If you choose to fly with your sword, it might take you about a hundred years, but every year there is a Spirit Boat that travels to Central State from our city. Just ten thousand top-grade spiritual stones will cover the fare," explained the shopkeeper, sympathizing with Ye Qiu as a newcomer who was unfamiliar with the Canglan World.
In fact, in the Canglan World, the principal currency of trade is the Spirit Crystal, which is one grade higher than the Spirit Stone. However, since Spirit Crystals are scarce in the Lower Realm, the shopkeeper informed Ye Qiu about the cost in terms of Spirit Stones.
"Thank you, shopkeeper," Ye Qiu rewarded him with a storage bag filled with top-grade spiritual stones, containing no less than a thousand pieces. "Shopkeeper, I’m still not familiar enough with the Canglan World. Could you explain it to me in more detail?"
The shopkeeper, a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator himself, was even more enthusiastic seeing Ye Qiu’s generous tip. "No problem, I’ll explain everything to you in detail."
While "in detail" might be an overstatement, since the Canglan World was immense, the shopkeeper merely gave Ye Qiu an overview of the power landscape and several forbidden areas.
After getting the information, Ye Qiu asked, "What if I want to find someone?"
"Young man, it’s easier for people to come looking for you than you to find them in the Canglan World, it’s too vast. Only those geniuses are widely recognized. Considering your talents, you could try challenging the Thousand-Year Ranking."
"What’s that?"
"It’s a grand event of the entire Canglan World, held only once every five hundred years. Only cultivators under a thousand years old may register to participate. Representatives selected by various states and Major Sects defend their positions in the competition. Only those who rank in the top hundred become known throughout the Canglan World. It’s a spectacle completely worth seeing. It’s been four hundred and fifty years since the last event. You could give it a shot, young friend, though it’s quite difficult, as the real prodigies are those from Major Sects and great families..."
The shopkeeper showed a look of longing as he spoke; he had no hopes for himself but wished that someone from the younger generation with exceptional talent could stand on that stage, which would satisfy him completely.