Chapter 445: Not The Weak One
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
Lin Feng seized the talisman from the Brilliant Lunar Grandmaster. It had the ability to communicate and determine the exact location of the middle world in the Spatial Turbulence.
The company followed Lin Feng through the void and straight into the middle world.
Once they arrived on the world, everybody’s immediate reaction was to frown. There was a dearth of spiritual energy in this world, and was completely unsuitable for the subsistence of cultivators.
The Divine Lands, also a greater world, had seen its resources being depleted and growing scarce with the long history of humanity’s progress and propagation, as well as the development of uncountable generations of cultivators.
Therefore, many great powers would fervently discover and develop middle worlds so that they could rely on the resources of the middle worlds to sustain the Divine Lands.
The middle world in front of them had been hidden and obscure in the Spatial Turbulence all this time and nobody had ever set foot on it or developed the area.
The aim of the Qiong Qi conquest was not just for the Nine Luminaries Heaven-Crushing Formation. This ancient middle world was one of their targets as well.
However, this place was completely barren and would not be suitable for cultivators to reside in or practice their craft.
Lin Feng surveyed his surroundings, and it was all red barren lands as far as his eyes could see. The barren lands stretched beyond the horizon and there was no end in sight.
The company could already tell without setting foot on the world that the bright red gravel and stones on the ground were worthless. They could not feel sources of life or spiritual energy, and neither could they detect important minerals.
Simply put, this place was completely barren, impoverished and devoid of anything at all.
The Stellar Holy Man furrowed his brows and cast his sight to the far end of the horizon. "If we don’t find anything over there, then this middle world can be considered a complete wasteland."
Lin Feng and company consensually agreed as they all looked in the same direction as the Stellar Holy Man. They could subtly feel that only in that direction could relatively denser traces of spiritual energy be found.
Of course, the Qiong Qi tribe could also be residing around that area.
The company began to fly in that direction. During the process, Lin Feng paid special attention to the red barrens below him. There was not a single human being around nor were there demon tribes here – there were only some monsters and beasts that were bred from within the red gravel. They were all relatively weak, and at maximum their levels of mastery only reached the Qi cultivation stage.
These strange monsters were, imaginably, the local inhabitants of this middle world. There should also be some stronger ones amongst the crowd of strange monsters. However, according to the words of the Brilliant Lunar Grandmaster, the monsters that were relatively stronger were wiped out by the Qiong Qi.
The Qiong Qi were considered one of the Four Immemorial Fearsome Beasts. They were in the list along with the Tao Tie, the Hun Dun and the Tao Wu. They had a pair of wings on their backs and had spikes upon their furry skin. Their physical appearance was like a bull but similar to a tiger at the same time, and their personalities were diabolical. Even when compared to other demon races, their personalities were still considered relatively more violent and evil.
Even the little monsters in front of them were probably not monsters that escaped the genocide but rather the newborns afterwards. The previous inhabitants were all brutally murdered by the Qiong Qi.
Zhu Yi was in front of the entrance to the Disciple’s Abode and a bunch of second-generation disciple were in front of him.
"You have been up the mountain for quite a period of time. I imagine you lot must have a decent understanding of Mount Yujing’s environment. The ampleness of the spiritual energy in this place far exceeds that of other places. Needless to say, the barren middle world cannot compare. Even the other places that you have lived in before on the Divine Lands are also far inferior to this magical mountain."
The disciples nodded together in acknowledgement. Some people cannot be blamed for not knowing, but there are some things that people need to know in order for them to appreciate the privilege of their resources and circumstance.
Zhu Yi enunciated every word. "I’m telling you guys all this not because I wish to brag, and neither do I wish for you to feel arrogant. I’m trying to convey a piece of wisdom."
"The more substantial and privileged the outside world is, the harder all of you have to work."
The group of second-generation disciples bent down to Zhu Yi and paid their respects. "We will keep your words in mind."
Zhu Yi continued, "As we live upon this earth, we need to have great ambitions. However, we cannot harbor ambitions that are unattainable. What you guys are about to see and perceive is not something any of you can come into contact with directly as this point in time. All of you can only watch – the whole point is to open your eyes to the world and widen your horizons."
The group of disciples bobbed their heads up and down like little chickens. They had just witnessed the battle that Lin Feng had with the Mountain-Breaking Swordmaster Ning Lang as well as the Guanchong Swordmaster.
If one had the heart to cultivate and proceeded on the path of cultivation, there was hardly anybody who did not hear of the reputation of the Three Holy Grounds.
To the younger generation of disciples, before they joined the Celestial Sect of Wonders, other sects like the Mount Shu Sword Sect were considered legendary entities in their eyes. These entities were much like immortal and untouchable giants, and the former could only watch and fantasize.
Some of these people, once they joined the Celestial Sect of Wonders, while they were loyal to the sect they could not help but feel that they were disadvantaged from the start in comparison to places like the Great Void Sect and the Mount Shu Sword Sect, which were something of the legends. They could not help but feel as if they were one class below the others and felt guilty about it.
People like Ning Lang and the Guanchong Swordmaster were considered beings of fairytales to the youngsters. They were the legendary protagonists in poems of history.
One could not really blame them, however. The Celestial Sect of Wonders was, after all, a new sect and were only in their initial development and expansion phase. Their history and reputation could not compare to the Mount Shu Sword Sect, whose name had been renowned throughout millennia.
This was a part of the Celestial Sect of Wonders’ background. The Mount Shu Sword Sect required no other display or signal – their name alone could influence ambitious youngsters to bend down and submit.
Such influence and dominance was not something that could simply be told or passed around by word of mouth. This was the legacy Mount Shu’s multimillion years of history – prodigies came and went and they fought out their own legacy.
During the battle of their inauguration outside Shazhou City, Lin Feng defeated Kong Chang of Mount Shu and subsequently overcame Pang Jie of the Great Void Sect. One could say he solidified his stand and dominance. However, the two people in question were ultimately only in the nascent soul stage. When real immortal soul stage cultivators showed up, the difference in pressure was incomparable.
Therefore, when they personally witnessed Lin Feng go up against both the Guanchong Swordmaster and Ning Lang, the younger generation of the Celestial Sect of Wonders could not help but feel unconfident.
In the end, it was Lin Feng that came out victorious with a devastating that very nearly cleaved the Mountain-Breaking Swordmaster, Ning Lang, into two and it was also Lin Feng that convincingly defeated the Guanchong Swordmaster.
What they had witnessed affected them profoundly, especially because Lin Feng defeated great sword cultivators of the Mount Shu Sword Sect with swordplay – the reason for their years of reputation and glory. The fact made the impact infinitely greater.
Even though Lin Feng only unleashed one strike of the sword, it was like a tidal wave and completely shattered the burden on the chests of all the onlookers. It was as if the clouds dissipated to unveil the rising Sun and they could suddenly see the light. "The Celestial Sect of Wonders – We’re not the weak ones! Even if we are faced with holy grounds like the Mount Shu Sword Sect, they have cannot hope to put us down and erase the glory of our sect!"
People like Zhu Yi, Shi Tianhao and Lin Feng were always full of confidence. What they found even more pleasantly surprising was that Lin Feng’s mastery of swordplay was so impressive.
"Could it be that Master’s most powerful abhijna is the way of the sword?" Shi Tianhao blinked a few times as he muttered to himself. "I really wish to learn this move from master."
Xiao Yan, who was previously shut in at the Inferno Precipice, came out of his recluse and joined the rest upon Mount Yujing. He heard Xiao Budian’s muttering, thought for a moment and said, "It’s probably because our level of mastery is not high enough."
"Do you guys remember the giant sword in the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World? Even though I never had direct contact with the sword casing, I could faintly feel the frightening sword aura coming from within. I believe the sword is still in its ‘molding’ stage, and is very likely to be a magic treasure that master is currently working on. It’s probably his personal weapon."
Beside him, Zhu Yi nodded with acknowledgement. "That is quite right. It’s still far from being complete and far from being translated into practical mantra. Master’s intentions for using the sword casing to imprison the Golden Crow Grand Sage is so that the Golden Crow Grand Sage can help to grind the sword."
Yue Hongyan suddenly opened her mouth. "As of now, nobody knew that master was adept in swordplay. Is it possible that swordplay is just one of the many abhijnas and masteries that he is adept at?"
Shi Tianhao exclaimed with a laugh, "That’s fantastic. Master has so many powerful abilities. Guess we don’t have to force ourselves to use the sword – once he’s done with refining that giant sword he should just gift it to me."
Xiao Yan and the others began to chide him. "You wish! You seem to want a piece of anything good. Really thick skin, you."
Their laughter and conversations were separated with mana and they took care not to let the second-generation disciples overhear. However, it was very simple for Lin Feng if he wanted to know.
He was currently connected spiritually with Mount Yujing. Even though his control of his personal mana became unbelievably unskillful and clumsy, he became more sensitive to the happenings on Mount Yujing.
Lin Feng laughed in his mind as he listened to his disciples’ conversation. He used the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree to block off the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World from the senses of Xiao Yan and the others.
Therefore, when Lin Feng combined Mount Yujing, the Black Heavenly Treasure Tree and the Heaven-Revolving Purple Energy and drew upon the energy to channel the fearsome sword, Xiao Yan and the others knew nothing of it. This led to their conclusion, much like that of the Guanchong Swordmaster and the others, that Lin Feng’s formidable strike of the sword came from his own personal mastery.
Form their understanding, the sword casing inside the Heavenly Cosmic Ray World was an unfinished magic treasure and thus was dysfunctional and could not be used.
"But, being the patriarch is a hard job. Especially so when this patriarch is carrying along a bunch of prodigies destined for greatness. " Lin Feng wrinkled his lips slightly. "I need to improve my professional standards so that I am qualified to execute this great work in the future."
While he thought to himself, Lin Feng and the others flew across the endless red barrens. At the far end of the horizon, a gigantic black shadow suddenly appeared and stood upright on the ground. It seemed extremely out of place.
Lin Feng took a closer look and realized that it was a strange patch of forest.
To call it a forest would be somewhat inaccurate. This was because the forest had a massive surface area, so vast that one could say that it was a boundless ancient jungle. The leaves touched and overlapped each other to block out the sun – it was an impressive sight.
However, somewhere deep inside the dense vegetation and under the shades provided by the trees were only a dozen over thick tree trunks that stood independently and isolated upon the red barrens.
Every trunk was immensely thick and were over ten thousand feet tall. The trunks were upright and bare, but leaves and branches grew out on the upper parts of the gigantic trees.
The branches and leaves expanded in all directions and were intertwined with the other giant trees.
It was much like a couple dozen gargantuan pillars that supported a vast area of forest leaves. It also resembled a giant structure with a simple structure and a root overhead.
Everybody took in what they saw, stunned. Yan Mingyue took a deep breath and said, "Those are Cloud Forest Trees. Whether in the Divine Lands or in the Barren Expanses, these have been extinct for ages. They have only been referenced in ancient archives. Amongst the other known middle worlds, these trees have never been discovered."
Shi Zongyue said slowly, "I have also only read about them in archives and encyclopedias. Legend has it that these trees existed during an immemorial era, and a person of great ability tried to breed the Ginseng Fruit Tree of the Four Great Strange Trees, but due to unforeseen circumstances he was unsuccessful and in the end, the Cloud Forest Tree was one of the named products of the failed process."
"The fruit that they bear is called the Cloud Forest Magical Fruit. Even though they are not as mystical or as powerful as the Ginseng Fruit, they also have practically unlimited uses and can be considered an unrivalled and extremely exotic fruit of the world."
Lin Feng looked down at the red barrens below him and said slowly, "The spiritual energy of this middle world is quite poor, but I don’t think it’s bad enough that the whole area can be so barren. From the looks of it, all the spiritual energy has been absorbed by these Cloud Forest Trees."
The others nodded their heads in agreement. Yan Mingyue began to play with her sideburns as she said, "The Qiong Qi entered this place first. It’s impossible that they have missed the trees when they came, so maybe they’re hiding within the forest. We need to be careful."
"Eh?" Lin Feng was just about to follow the others as they walked closer to the Cloud Tree Forest when a system tone sounded out by his ear and stunned him for a little while.
"The host has found a lost relic of the Great Thunderclap Temple near the area!"