Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 589 - 587 The Boundary and Lifespan (Additional update for monthly ticket)_1

Chapter 589: Chapter 587 The Boundary and Lifespan (Additional update for monthly ticket)_1

"Could it be the Nascent Soul Ancestor?!"

The burly man’s complexion changed drastically, his legs became weak, and he almost knelt down to beg for mercy.

If it wasn’t for the Nascent Soul old monster, how could they have failed to detect any trace of him?

"Do not lose your composure; if it was a Nascent Soul Ancestor, you and I would have been dead long ago. It’s probably just some marvelous concealment techniques or perhaps the aid of some treasure or secret talisman, playing tricks on us nearby!"

Wei Qingfeng’s eyes flashed repeatedly as he deployed several Spiritual Eye Skills in succession, but he was utterly unable to locate the newcomer’s trace. His face hardened, and he thumped his chest in frustration.

He opened his mouth and spat out a beam of blue light, revealing an ancient, blue oil-paper umbrella that opened up, turning its blue spiritual energy into pine needles, showering down like rain.

Clearly, if the newcomer had used some Divine Mysterious Escape Skills or talismans, this indiscriminate, wide-range attack would have forced them to slip up.

Unfortunately, Wei Qingfeng was disappointed to discover that under his ’Green Pine Umbrella,’ within a radius of several miles, there was not the slightest anomaly.

"Not bad, not bad... having determination and decisiveness is also good."

Fang Xi’s voice rang out, and then, within the void, a crystal clear thread emerged.

Pfft!

This thread seemed sparkling and translucent, but in reality, it was like nothingness, passing directly through the murky cyclone and falling onto Wei Qingfeng.

Pfft!

Wei Qingfeng’s complexion changed instantly as he spat out a mouthful of essence blood. He even felt as if his hard-earned Golden Core of a hundred years had disconnected from him, his usually obedient magic power and Divine Consciousness both becoming silent as death, like a puppet, he collapsed to the ground.

In his eyes, there remained a trace of shock: ’Divine Thought Materialisation... Could it be a Transcendent God?!"

Wei Qingfeng couldn’t believe it; how could he, a mere Core Formation cultivation-robber, be so fortunate or unfortunate to provoke a Transcendent God who condescended to deal with him personally?

Bang!

His companion also collapsed with an incredulous look on his face, unable to speak or move, his eyes only filled with panic.

A moment later, a light breeze blew by.

Fang Xi stepped forward with the moonlight beneath his feet.

He had been resting in the camp and then used an illusion to disguise himself, while his true body had quietly left.

With his Transcendent God realm, those mere martial artists, comparable to the Core Formation and Foundation Establishment stages, naturally couldn’t find any trace of his actions.

Now, in front of these two Core Formation cultivators, with a mere thought, two demonic red and black handprints appeared and lifted the two men before him.

When Wei Qingfeng saw Fang Xi’s appearance, his eyes suddenly widened.

Although he had only glanced at him when they met, he recognized at once that Fang Xi was one of the people from that caravan!

Cultivators had the memory to never forget a face, and now, Wei Qingfeng’s heart was full of regret.

How unlucky must he be, and how much under a dark cloud, to encounter a Transcendent God who was rumored to travel incognito among mortals?

Unfortunately, he could not beg for mercy with his current inability to speak; he could only continuously signal with his eyes.

But Fang Xi couldn’t be bothered to waste words with him, pressing one hand on top of his head.

In an instant, a vast amount of memories flashed by him like a swift steed.

Wei Qingfeng suffered from the Soul Searching Skill, his eyes rolling back, and by the time Fang Xi released him, he collapsed to the ground, boneless as though his bones had been extracted.

After searching Wei Qingfeng’s soul, Fang Xi grabbed the other Core Formation cultivator and did the same.

Moments later, the two were lying side by side, their breaths feeble.

He then sat cross-legged, comparing and digesting the memories of the two Core Formation cultivators that spanned hundreds of years.

’I have to say, worthy of being Core Formation cultivators, eh? They know so much more than mortals...’

Fang Xi’s eyes gleamed slightly.

According to their memories, this place was indeed the Earth Immortal Realm, still considered a remote area of the Earth Immortal Realm, and as for more geography or matters related to Ascending Immortals?

The knowledge of Core Formation cultivators was limited, after all.

"However, they’re after all cultivators, so their understanding of the realms after Returning to Emptiness is quite profound..."

He muttered to himself.

"Cultivators cultivate starting with Qi Refining, then Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Infant Condensing, Transcendent God... This is the limit of the Lower Realm."

"In the Earth Immortal Realm, following Transcendent God, there are Returning to Emptiness, Integration, Mahayana, and other realms... Once the ’Mahayana’ realm is achieved, cultivation is nearly complete, just awaiting to overcome the tribulation for fulfillment, ascending to the True Immortal Realm, thus also known as ’Individual Immortal’ or ’Mahayana Individual Immortal’!"

Naturally, these two only heard of such descriptions, and as for what profound abilities a cultivator of the Great Divine Skill after Returning to Emptiness might possess? They were mostly subjective conjectures...

After all, their usual interaction with Nascent Soul cultivators was already considered lucky.

"There are mortals, martial artists, and cultivators in the Earth Immortal Realm... Amongst the cultivators, those of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment are still the most numerous... Transcendent God cultivators can already establish sects and become famous in a region... Higher level practitioners such as those in the Returning to Emptiness and Integration can resonate their names throughout the human race and truly stand at the apex... while the ultimate Mahayana Individual Immortals are leaders of the human race, renowned across the Earth Immortal Realm, capable of influencing the situation among humans, demons, and cultivators, an existence that can suppress the fortunes of a race..."

"Even in the Setting Sun Plain above, those thousands of mortal nations are merely ruled by a group of Nascent Souls, with Transcendent God Sects high and mighty above..."

"It seems that my cultivation is not too shabby, right? But I mustn’t get carried away, got to stay low-key, low-key..."

Fang Xi, remembering even more details, a slight smile appearing on his face.

These two Core Formation Cultivators had limited knowledge, and their understanding of realms above Returning to Emptiness was rather vague. However, they did have some basic common sense, which greatly made up for Fang Xi’s shortcomings.

"In the Earth Immortal Realm, due to the abundance of Heaven and Earth Primordial Energy, even ordinary mortals, if not afflicted by war or disease, can live to the age of one hundred and twenty quite easily..."

"When it comes to Cultivators, their lifespan is even longer, especially for Transcendent God Cultivators, whose lifespan is almost doubled... In the Lower Realm, they might live for about two thousand years, but in the Earth Immortal Realm, it’s common to live for four to five thousand years!"

Four to five thousand years!

There’s no wonder why those Earth Immortals from the Lower Realm are so desperate to come to the Earth Immortal Realm!

And after reaching the Returning to Emptiness realm, one can easily live for over ten thousand years!

"Returning to Emptiness, a lifespan of ten thousand years... The Eternal Green Body, adding ten thousand years to one’s lifespan... I don’t know the connection between these two, but the ’Eternal Green Body’ should certainly be beneficial in breaking through to Returning to Emptness..."

"As for Integration Cultivators, they generally can live for tens of thousands of years..."

"It looks like my ’Kuyong Mysterious Light’ is quite useful. Even if I don’t get the Great Divine Skill of the Upper Life-Determiner, would I still have a trump card after advancing to Returning to Emptiness?"

A smile emerged at the corner of Fang Xi’s mouth, and then his expression turned grave.

The Earth Immortal Realm had so many benefits, but naturally, it also had drawbacks!

"It’s not so bad before Returning to Emptiness, but after breaking through to the Returning to Emptiness realm, do I have to transcend a tribulation with every advancement in Cultivation?"

"From the early stages of Returning to Emptiness to the middle, and then from the middle to the late stages... I’d have to overcome two Heaven Tribulations, known as ’Minor Heavenly Tribulations’... I don’t know how many great powers have fallen because of these."

"And when breaking through from Returning to Emptiness to Integration, one must face the ’Major Heavenly Tribulation’... Every breakthrough a Cultivator makes inevitably attracts the Power of Heaven and Earth, there’s no escaping it."

"So, if we don’t count the breakthrough from Transcendent God to Returning to Emptiness, does an initial-stage Returning to Emptiness Cultivator have to endure four Minor Heavenly Tribulations and two Major Heavenly Tribulations to Cultivate to the Mahayana Realm?"

Fang Xi did the calculations, from his current Cultivation to the Mahayana, he had at least three Major Heavenly Tribulations and four Minor Heavenly Tribulations to overcome.

Minor Heavenly Tribulations were already a terrifying prospect for high-rank Cultivators, not to mention the horror of Major Heavenly Tribulations!

Typically, those Returning to Emptiness Cultivators would delay as long as possible, only facing the Minor Heavenly Tribulation when their lifespan was about to be exhausted, as advancing even a small realm would extend their lifespan considerably.

If they broke through a major realm, doubling their lifespan was a mere trifle!

This was the driving force behind countless Cultivators’ Cultivation and tribulation-transcending!

’In the Earth Immortal Realm, the number of tribulations is so terrifying... It’s a good thing I collected the ’Four Holy Beasts Armor’ in the Lower Realm; otherwise, I really wouldn’t have many means to deal with the thunder tribulations...’

Fang Xi looked down at the two Core Formation Cultivators on the ground and was about to send a breath of Demon Fire their way when he suddenly paused, a thought striking him, and he took out a jade bottle.

As he recited an incantation, a strand of magic power and essence blood was drawn out from the Core Formation Cultivator, who was full of Evil Qi, and entered the jade bottle.

"Wei Qingfeng left behind a Soul Lamp... Assuming his identity would be too troublesome, but this ’Shi Dingfeng’ is an Individual Cultivator, unaffiliated with any School..."

If Fang Xi used Wei Qingfeng’s identity but confined or killed the man, the corresponding Soul Lamp would react, either dimming or extinguishing.

In such a case, if the Sect were to investigate, it would be quite troublesome.

On the other hand, this individual named ’Shi Dingfeng’ was a loner, presenting fewer problems.

...

The next day, the caravan of Flying Sun City resumed its journey.

"Instructor Fang, you seem in good spirits today. Could it be that something pleasing has happened?"

Li Guangjin looked at Fang Xi with a hint of curiosity.

"Not at all, I’m merely looking forward to arriving at Mechanism City, that’s all."

Fang Xi laughed heartily.

The people in the caravan were unaware that, thanks to a certain individual’s actions, they had quietly avoided a disaster.

And other than Wei Qingfeng, nothing else happened along the way. It was very peaceful, or rather, mundane!

This caused some resentment in Fang Xi’s heart. According to the narrative structure of operas and novels, on such a journey, they should at least encounter a massive slaughter, then coincidentally save a Divine Body, a Saintly Body, not a Saintess from a major Sect, or a young princess from a Noble family, which would then lead to the unraveling of a grand conspiracy that affected the entire Earth Immortal Realm, and so on...

Why was it so bland when it came to him?

Actually, the Earth Immortal Realm was just too vast. Even though there were attacks, they happened to only a very few unlucky caravans.

If one encounters it once in ten trips, that’s already considerable misfortune.

If it happens three or four times out of ten, then there simply wouldn’t be any caravans!

Fortunately, even the longest journey has an end.

Once they entered the heart of Ding Country, the imperial road suddenly became much flatter, neater, and wider, with inns scattered everywhere along the way.

And outside the capital of Ding Country, Fang Xi finally laid eyes on the Mo Family’s ’Mechanism City’ that he had heard so much about.

Outside the capital of Ding Country, there was a lake that spanned ten thousand miles.

This lake, Vast Fog and Waves, supported countless fishermen in its vicinity, and the capital’s water supply largely depended on it as well.

But at this moment, a city floated above the lake, almost obscuring the entire lake surface.

Gigantic stone statues, hundreds of feet tall, stood erect at the edges of the city walls, almost merging with the walls themselves.

Everyone who came to Lan City was shocked by this sight, speechless for a long time.