Chapter 64: Entering the Secret Realm!
“Damn it!”
“The old demon Mo actually showed up!”
“The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!”
“That old fiend is a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator and a robbing cultivator at that—run!”
Panic-stricken, the crowd scattered in terror.
Old Mo ignored them, sweeping up the blood-soaked storage pouch, eager to see if the spirit item was inside.
But unexpectedly—
A violent burst—
The moment he opened the pouch, a sword’s aura erupted forth, fiercely piercing his chest.
“Aaah!”
Old Mo let out a furious roar, staggering back, as hundreds of hand seals blotted out the sky, pounding down upon the sword’s radiance.
Old Mo’s strength was monstrous, his power formidable. The sword light shattered under his onslaught, revealing the figure of a man in white.
The man retreated gracefully, landing a hundred paces away, his expression utterly indifferent.
“Old Xu, you wretched ghost!”
Clutching his bleeding chest, Old Mo’s shock and rage intermingled as he glared at the man in white. In that instant, he understood everything and bellowed,
“Well, well, well! To ambush me, you dared use your own kin as bait—your clan truly has no scruples!”
Old Xu’s face was impassive as he coldly replied,
“Old Mo, you’ve crossed us at Little Lan Mountain time after time, plundering wherever you please. Worse yet, your fairy accomplice has stolen our treasures. Your crimes are unforgivable; there will be no mercy for you!”
“Unforgivable, you say?”
Old Mo laughed uproariously.
Old Xu’s gaze turned icy.
“What is it?”
Jia Yi replied with a smile, “This Azure Lotus Estate’s Lingzhi grass and several other spiritual items have an unresolved connection with my Taiyi Sect. I’ve come to claim them.”
“An unresolved connection?”
“You’ve come to claim them?”
Old Xu and Yang Yun were stunned before realization dawned.
This man… was here to rob them?
What a joke!
“So you’re just another villain, a robber in the guise of a cultivator—birds of a feather!”
Old Xu, furious beyond measure, gave a cold laugh.
“You dare attempt this alone? Aren’t you overreaching…”
His words were cut short as a streak of sword light shot out, instantly slaying Old Mo within the net.
After the sword’s strike, a deathly silence fell upon the mountainside.
Old Xu stood mute, Yang Yun equally speechless.
“So, a sword cultivator.”
Old Xu’s face was ashen, his jaw clenched tight as he gazed at the newcomer, unable to hide his dread.
A sword cultivator!
Jia Yi stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the two. “Well?”
Faced with such a formidable enemy, Yang Yun beside him fell silent.
Old Xu’s face remained dark. Though he clearly knew the opponent’s strength surpassed theirs, he gritted his teeth and said,
“With such ability, why hide behind a mask? Are you afraid to show your face?”
At this, Jia Yi chuckled, raising a hand to tap his mask lightly.
“My appearance is plain for all to see; what is there to hide?”
“You…”
Jia Yi lifted his hand, sword light gleaming beneath his palm.
“If you refuse to yield, then let us fight!”
“The so-called Jia Yi is hiding within Azure Lotus Lake.”
Since the end of the Azure Lotus Lake array incident, unofficial counts said over a hundred cultivators had perished or vanished within the lake—some even experts at the late stage of Qi Refining.
“But regardless of whether there is fortune within Azure Lotus Lake, any advancement in cultivation depends on spiritual energy.”
If a cultivator goes too long without absorbing spiritual energy, not only will their cultivation stagnate or regress, but they may also lose all hope of future progress.
…
While the three clans of Little Lan Mountain searched for Shen Yan, Shen Yan himself had already sought out a steward from the Vast Sea Sect.
Though there were several cultivation sects in the Qian Kingdom, the greatest among them was the Vast Sea Sect.
The three clans of Little Lan Mountain were domineering, but even they dared not provoke the Vast Sea Sect.
After some routine formalities, the middle-aged man accepted Shen Yan’s storage pouch with a satisfied, secretive smile at Shen Yan’s attitude.
“Rest assured, fellow cultivator. Since you discovered the spiritual vein left behind by the Azure Lotus Sword Sect, in principle, it belongs to you.”
“Even if someone tries to seize it, as long as you defend my sect’s arena for three rounds, you can claim the spiritual land as your future foundation.”
“Thank you, fellow cultivator,” Shen Yan said with a bow.
For a cultivator, hiding in the mortal world all day was far too suspicious. So he openly reported the existence of the spiritual vein, offering it directly to the Vast Sea Sect.
“This will be your spiritual land?”
The young man was terrified and tried to summon his spiritual power, but felt a sharp pain at his neck. In an instant, his body was paralyzed.
Shen Yan had already made up his mind.
Even sword cultivators were no exception.
Shen Yan smiled and continued,
“Let it be at Azure Lotus Lake, then. Simple and straightforward—no need for complications.”
“Very well!”
The steward, Xuanji Zi, reciprocated,
“As you wish, fellow cultivator. Three months from now, at Azure Lotus Lake, the contest for the spiritual land shall begin. May victory be yours.”
Once Xuanji Zi, the stationed steward, had departed, Shen Yan was alone on the island once more.
Wherever there are people, there is a society, there is a structure of rule—a truth eternal since antiquity.
The cultivation world is the same; only the rulers have changed from mortal dynasties to cultivation sects.
The Vast Sea Sect ruled Qian Kingdom, and its system was already perfected, with the role of “stationed steward” being commonplace within the sect.
The foundation of cultivation is the spiritual root; its essence is spiritual energy.
A stationed steward is a disciple of the Vast Sea Sect, representing the sect throughout Qian Kingdom—often traveling among mortals, seeking out new spiritual root seeds and discovering spiritual lands and veins to be brought under the sect’s control.
The former are human resources; the latter are resources for development.
Both are strategic assets and must be tightly held.
Within Qian Kingdom, all resources, whether of the mortal world or the cultivation world, theoretically belong to the Vast Sea Sect. Individuals may not claim them for themselves, especially not spiritual lands or veins.
Thus, even if you discover a spiritual land, or even invest resources and painstaking effort to cultivate it by hand, it does not belong to you but to the Vast Sea Sect, and must be reported.
Otherwise, it is considered rebellion and grounds for extermination.
Of course, cultivators are not like mortals.
Mortals can be oppressed harshly—they have no power to resist.
Cultivators are different, armed with formidable tools and hearts ready to kill. Even the Vast Sea Sect cannot exploit them to the extreme, cutting off all avenues of advancement, or they will face backlash, shaking the very foundations of the sect.
Thus, compared to the ruthless suppression and closed hierarchies of mortal government and gangs, the sects of the cultivation world rule with relative moderation.
The rulers eat the meat, but others are allowed to drink the broth.
Hence, the system of spiritual land allocation.
When you discover a spiritual land, while you cannot claim it outright, you may report it to the Vast Sea Sect. If it is a third-rank land, there is no question—it goes directly to the sect.
But if it is of lesser value—a second- or first-rank spiritual land—the Vast Sea Sect will record it, then announce its discovery to all cultivators, especially those of Foundation Establishment clans, and hold a contest for its ownership.
As the discoverer, you have the right to defend it; if you can withstand three challenges in the presence of the Vast Sea Sect, you gain the right to the land and become part of their system of rule.
Shen Yan found the stationed steward, Qingyu, and reported the matter of the Azure Lotus spiritual land.
Spiritual lands arise of themselves, and though Azure Lotus is of the mortal world…