Cultivation Begins From The Desert
Chapter 81: Chasing Souls for 1,000 Miles

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Chasing Souls for 1,000 Miles

The ritual has begun!

Zhouyang and the other conversing Foundation Establishment cultivators immediately fell silent, their eyes intently fixed on the Chen Family Ancestor atop the altar.

Everyone had heard of the reputation of the "Ten Thousand Miles Soul-Chasing Technique," but few present had actually witnessed this Tier Five magic in action.

After all, mastering this technique required at least a late-stage Purple Mansion cultivation, and in recent years, apart from the sand bandits who attacked the Baisha River Oasis, who else in the nearby cultivation realm would dare to provoke a late-stage Purple Mansion cultivator?

The might of a Tier Five magic truly did not disappoint these Foundation Establishment cultivators below the altar like Zhouyang.

As the Chen Family Ancestor utilized the power of the altar to cast the spell, a fierce wind suddenly whipped up, making the banner on the altar flutter violently.

Simultaneously, the runes written in cinnabar blood ink on the banner radiated a strong blood-red light, enveloping the entire altar.

Within the blood light, the Chen Family Ancestor’s aura, as a late-stage Purple Mansion cultivator, was entirely unleashed. His white hair danced in the wind as he rapidly formed intricate spell seals with his hands, reciting a strange incantation that no one could understand, as if he had become one with the altar.

Rumble!

A sudden clap of thunder echoed in the sky. Zhouyang looked up to see a dark cloud hovering above the altar, with flashes of lightning flickering within.

"How astonishing!"

He clicked his tongue in amazement, finally witnessing the magnificence of a high-tier cultivator.

It had long been said that cultivators face celestial thunder trials when forming their Golden Core, yet he never expected a mere Tier Five magic could invoke such celestial phenomena with thunder and lightning.

The accompanying wind and thunder, the pervasive blood light, all these extraordinary scenes unmistakably indicated the uniqueness of the "Ten Thousand Miles Soul-Chasing Technique."

At last, when the Chen Family Ancestor had been casting the spell for half an hour, the magic finally reached its final step.

"Search the heavens and earth, pursue souls over ten thousand miles!"

With a fierce shout from the Chen Family Ancestor on the altar, he suddenly threw the jade bottle filled with the sand bandit’s blood into the air, shattering it with magical power.

In an instant, centered around the few drops of blood that fell from the shattered jade bottle, a massive spiritual energy vortex formed immediately.

The spiritual energy vortex spun, madly absorbing the blood light enveloping the entire altar and the torrents of spiritual energy rushing from all directions.

After a dozen breaths, the vortex, seemingly saturated, suddenly spat out a soul-seeking bloodbird the size of a fist.

Caw!

The soul-seeking bloodbird, upon its appearance, spread its wings and let out a strange screech, then, with a flash of blood light, transformed into a bloody stream of light and flew out of White Camel Peak.

The speed of the bloody stream of light was exceptionally fast, far surpassing that of Foundation Establishment cultivators using sword flight. However, just as it flew out of White Camel Peak, an even faster azure stream of light soared from outside the mountain, closely pursuing it.

Seeing this, Zhouyang suddenly understood why Zhang Yunpeng wasn’t present here.

"I didn’t expect that Zhang Yunpeng, Elder Zhang, is a rare wind element spiritual root cultivator. No wonder the Yellow Sand Sect sent him to lead us and assist."

Wind element spiritual root cultivators are known for their speed and escape techniques. With the same sword flight, wind element spiritual root cultivators fly faster than those with other spiritual roots.

Moreover, there are many spells among wind magic that can enhance a cultivator’s flying speed.

With Zhang Yunpeng’s sixth-layer Purple Mansion cultivation, purely in terms of flying speed, he probably wouldn’t lose to a ninth-layer Purple Mansion cultivator, and might even surpass them.

At this moment, the Chen Family Ancestor, who had completed the spell on the altar, invigorated, let out a low yell, "Let’s go, we’ll follow. With Fellow Daoist Zhang leading the way, no one needs to worry about flying in the wrong direction."

After speaking, he waved his sleeve and released the giant tower ship magical artifact, loading Zhouyang and over thirty other Foundation Establishment cultivators into it, then transformed into a streak of blue light and flew off from White Camel Peak.

Years ago, when he first saw the giant tower ship magical artifact in the hands of the Chen Family Ancestor outside Golden Dawn Mountain, Zhouyang had fantasized about the interior. Now that he was actually riding it, he realized that his imagination was somewhat simplistic.

The interior space of this giant tower ship was about several hundred square meters, divided into two sections. The front section was a small compartment where the ship’s owner resided, and behind the compartment was the passenger cabin. The cabin not only contained hundreds of seats integrated with the ship but also had windows allowing the cultivators inside to view the outside scenery.

"This is a large aircraft that can be carried along—a large spaceship, to be precise!"

Inside the giant tower ship, Zhouyang, looking at the spacious interior, and then at the white clouds rapidly passing outside the windows, couldn’t help but think of the airplanes he had flown in during his previous life.

In terms of area, the space inside the giant tower ship was roughly similar to that of a medium to large commercial aircraft, with a similar speed.

Under the control of Elder Chen, a Late-Stage Purple Mansion cultivator, the giant tower ship could travel three thousand miles in one hour, one or two times faster than Zhouyang’s all-out sword flight speed.

"Every time I ride Elder Chen’s ’Void Traveling Tower Ship’, it makes me yearn for the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm recorded in ancient texts. Only such a cultivation realm that once produced a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal could have someone refine such a treasure!"

While Zhouyang was observing the interior of the giant tower ship, he suddenly heard the sighs of Liu Qingsong, the Patriarch of the Liu Family of Chixia Mountain, as he conversed with someone. Hearing the words "Liuyun Continent", he immediately perked up and listened intently.

"Indeed! For us cultivators in the Boundless Sea of Sand, who among us doesn’t yearn for the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm upon hearing its tales? After all, it’s a place where Foundation Establishment Pills can be purchased directly in the marketplace, and even the treasures needed for opening the Purple Mansion can be bought with Spirit Stones!"

The cultivator conversing with Liu Qingsong agreed wholeheartedly, nodding repeatedly and expressing undisguised longing for the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm in his words.

Hearing this, Liu Qingsong’s expression changed. He turned his gaze towards a certain cultivator among the ten from the Yellow Sand Sect and asked, "Fellow Daoist Ma, your Yellow Sand Sect dispatches Purple Mansion cultivators to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm to trade for treasures once every few decades. How much do you know about the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm?"

The Ma-named cultivator from the Yellow Sand Sect, with a cultivation level of Eighth-Layer Foundation Establishment, seemingly had some rapport with Liu Qingsong. After pondering briefly, he slightly nodded and said, "Since Fellow Daoist Liu asked about this, I’ll share some of the information I know with you all."

Although he claimed to be informing Liu Qingsong, he didn’t deliberately prevent others from listening while speaking.

"Everyone knows about the prosperity of the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm. It has produced a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal, and all kinds of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures emerge endlessly—the kind of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators rarely seen over thousands of years in our Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm are never in short supply there."

"However, what everyone might not know is that the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, unlike our Boundless Sea of Sand, is not so peaceful. Cultivators there have split into multiple factions to vie for cultivation resources. Each faction has a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator overseeing it, and conflicts frequently erupt between low-tier cultivators of different factions over a Spirit Ore or Spirit Mountain."

"Your cultivation clans in our Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm only have to offer tribute to our Yellow Sand Sect once every ten years to avoid other troubles. However, in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm, unless they are the kind of super clans with Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, cultivation clans must frequently send people to be commandeered by sects to participate in cultivator warfare!"

"Lastly, discussing the treasures you care about, the most flourishing place in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm is the Liuyun Immortal City. It was established by a Tribulation Crossing True Immortal from the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm. The Immortal City is situated on a Tier Six High-Grade Spiritual Vein and hosts over one hundred thousand cultivators permanently residing there. As long as you have Spirit Stones, you can purchase everything from Foundation Establishment Pills to treasures aiding Golden Core Formation there."

"You probably don’t know that, apart from bordering us across the Broken Cloud Mountain Range, the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm also borders three other cultivation realms. The Hundred Skills of Cultivation there flourish, and all sorts of exotic treasures and spirit pills emerge continuously. For example, Elder Chen’s ’Void Traveling Tower Ship’ is made from materials actually sourced from the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, not native to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm."

The Ma-named cultivator spoke eloquently, with the stories and anecdotes about the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm from his mouth attracting the attention of many cultivators, including Zhouyang.

Unfortunately, this person, either due to sect rules or intentionally withholding, only spoke in general terms and refused to delve into specifics, especially the risks involved in going to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm.

He was unwilling to speak, and Liu Qingsong certainly wouldn’t insensitively ask further, so the topic soon shifted back to the matter of pursuing the sand bandits.

Regarding this operation to eliminate the sand bandits, everyone was rather optimistic. After all, according to intelligence obtained from the battle of Golden Dawn Mountain, there were only about a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators among the sand bandits. With two of them recently eliminated by Zhouyang and Chen Pingzhi, their number was now almost twice less than their current forces.

Not to mention, their side had two Purple Mansion cultivators participating, with the Chen Family Ancestor even possessing the cultivation of the Eighth-Layer of the Purple Mansion.

Zhouyang, unlike others, was not as optimistic. Having interacted with the sand bandits multiple times, he had developed numerous speculations about their background, which were further substantiated by things he found upon inspecting the storage bag of the sand bandit he killed this time around.

Yet, he was reluctant to share his speculations with outsiders. After all, speculation remained speculation. Without absolute certainty, if he recklessly voiced his conjectures, it would not only fail to convince others but could also cause panic.

If the bandit-sweeping proved unsuccessful, he might end up being blamed, and he had no desire to shoulder such a thankless task.

Therefore, he concealed his conjectures and discreetly communicated them to his father, Zhou Xuanhao, and the old clan leader, Zhou Minghan, advising them to stay alert and prepare accordingly.

Thus, with some cultivators meditating and others engaged in casual conversations inside the ship, the "Void Traveling Tower Ship" finally halted after flying for one or two hours.