Good news rarely leaves the door, but bad news travels thousands of li.
Even in the cultivation world, there was no escaping this truth.
Luo Chen knew very well that the great uproar he had caused at the Shadow Reflection Sect could never be kept a secret.
Moreover, unlike the information blackout in the Northern Sea or the sects of the Eastern Desolation that each swept only the snow before their own doorsteps, news spread astonishingly fast and wide in the Southern Border thanks to its unique messenger gu.
Thus, the moment Daoist Zhengguan, master of Jiu'ai Immortal City, called out his title, Luo Chen knew what had transpired a year ago at the Shadow Reflection Sect was out in the open.
Anyone else in his position might have been gripped by sheer terror.
After all, a massive power rooted in the Southern Border for as long as the Shadow Reflection Sect had sprawling ties. Whether it was allied sects bound by longstanding ties or the personal network of the Lantern Master himself, bringing them all together made for a colossal force.
Under the crushing weight of such a behemoth, who could help but feel afraid?
Yet Luo Chen did not care in the slightest!
Having reached his current realm, wielding terrifying might, he was not the least bit afraid that hitting the young would bring out the old, or that wiping out one nest would provoke another. If pushed too far, he would not mind eradicating another sect and pulling it up by its roots.
Luo Chen walked in front with a majestic stride, exuding tremendous presence.
Zhengguan followed behind, eyes gleaming with intrigue.
This cultivator named Qi truly lived up to the moniker Baxiu!
Such a commanding aura was exceptionally rare in the Southern Border's cultivation world, where people practiced biding their time and keeping a low profile. The Shadow Reflection Sect had suffered terrible misfortune by offending such a man.
Piqued by curiosity, he asked in a low voice, "Cave Master Minglei, does Daoist Friend Qi truly hail from Wind-Thunder Gorge?"
Cave Master Minglei nodded as if it were only natural. "Indeed. He is one of the thirty-six cave masters of Wind-Thunder Gorge. Although he attained the Dao somewhat later, his strength is well above my own."
Daoist Zhengguan shot him a half-smiling glance. "Truly?"
A fleeting trace of awkwardness crossed Cave Master Minglei's face, but he quickly answered with resolve, "Could there be any falsehood in this? If you do not believe me, Daoist Friend Zheng, you are welcome to send men to Wind-Thunder Gorge to investigate."
Daoist Zhengguan waved his hand dismissively. That would be far too impolite.
Besides, there was no need!
Stepping into the main hall, Daoist Zhengguan began instinctively, "Daoist Friend Bei, allow me to introduce—"
Before the words finished leaving his mouth, he abruptly stopped.
He looked with bewilderment at the two men standing opposite each other inside, especially Qi Tian, who wore a look of suspicion.
"Do you know each other?"
Bei Puti shook his head. "I have merely heard of Daoist Friend Qi's renown before, but we have never met. Yet seeing Daoist Friend Qi's demeanor, it seems as though he recognizes this old man?"
Luo Chen had only just arrived in the Southern Border, so how could he possibly know a native cultivator?
He had merely caught a faint, familiar scent off the man.
"Perhaps this seat mistook you for someone else!" Luo Chen offered by way of explanation.
Now it was Bei Puti's turn to look uncertain and suspicious.
Daoist Zhengguan hurried forward with a laugh. "The cultivation world is vast, so having one or two people who resemble each other is hardly surprising. Allow this old Daoist to make the introductions!"
"Bei Puti, Left Emissary of the Luo Cult."
"Qi Tian, Second Cave Master of Wind-Thunder Gorge."
After exchanging formal greetings, Bei Puti could not resist asking, "What kind of blessed land is Wind-Thunder Gorge to produce two such powerhouses as Daoist Friend Qi and Daoist Friend Minglei back-to-back?"
Cave Master Minglei replied stiffly, "It is merely a harsh retreat for desperate rogue cultivators seeking refuge from the world. There are no precious treasures to speak of—the environment is abominable. My breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage was purely a stroke of luck."
Bei Puti shook his head. "Then Daoist Friend Qi's achievements were surely no matter of luck?"
Luo Chen said nonchalantly, "After my cultivation saw some modest success, I left the Southern Border to roam the Mountain Sea Realm. My footsteps spanned all four continents of the world, and I even ventured into the desolate Boundless Demon Sea. Possessing this degree of strength is only natural, not something achieved by merely relying on the terrain of Wind-Thunder Gorge!"
At these words, everyone present looked taken aback.
It was normal for cultivators to travel.
However, weighed down by families and sects, most were confined to one or two continents. Especially when their realms were relatively low, roaming the Southern Border's cultivation world alone was enough to occupy a low-tier cultivator for a lifetime.
Yet this Qi Tian had left his footprints across all four continents?
Cave Master Minglei inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. With these words establishing a pretext, it would be much easier in the future to explain where Luo Chen had suddenly sprung from.
After exchanging origins and chatting for a short while, the conversation shifted to business.
Daoist Zhengguan's expression turned serious. "Since you have all come here, I presume you wish to join our Fierce Peak Zombie Alliance?"
Bei Puti nodded without hesitation. "Precisely! Word has it that Alliance Leader Perfected Songyang and Heavenly Master Li joined hands to devise a method for resolving qi deviation. In this lifetime, I still wish to take another step forward, so I am in desperate need of this technique!"
"Then are you prepared to make an enemy of the Gate of Life and Death?" Daoist Zhengguan countered.
Bei Puti hesitated.
The Gate of Life and Death was the Southern Border's sole Soul Transformation sacred ground. Setting aside making an enemy of it, ordinary people would not dare provoke it even on normal days.
Now, a cultivator from the Fierce Peak Zombie Alliance was stating it so brazenly?
Daoist Zhengguan shook his head. "Wanting the secret technique without bearing any of the risk... Left Emissary Bei, where in this world could such a fine bargain exist?"
Bei Puti fell silent. Only after a long pause did he say in a low voice, "Ever since the chaos within our inner sect years ago, my Luo Cult took a very long time to gradually recover its vitality. We do not wish to be drawn into any more struggles. Furthermore, I am merely one of the two emissaries; I cannot represent the Luo Cult."
"Then please obtain your cult master's consent first before approaching Alliance Leader Songyang for the formula!"
Daoist Zhengguan seemed accustomed to this kind of response, answering with well-practiced ease.
Meanwhile, Cave Master Minglei stood to the side looking utterly bewildered.
What qi deviation?
What making an enemy of a sacred ground?
Luo Chen, on the other hand, was beginning to piece it together.
If the issue he had encountered while cultivating at the Shadow Reflection Sect was not an isolated incident, it meant similar conditions were cropping up elsewhere in the Southern Border's cultivation world.
When Nascent Soul experts cultivated, they drew too close to heaven and earth; eroded by massive amounts of origin qi, it was exceptionally easy for them to suffer qi deviation or even be assimilated by heaven and earth!
Moreover, this must have been going on for a long time.
The Fierce Peak Zombie Alliance had likely relied on their means of resolving this disaster to draw in many desperate Nascent Soul True Persons on their own initiative.
This timeline probably spanned the last two to three centuries.
Yet neither the Eastern Desolation, the Central Plains, nor the Northern Sea had exhibited any such phenomenon.
*Did Perfected Tianshan leave his homeland back then and turn to the Tianyuan Dao Sect of the Central Plains because of this very reason?*
The Southern Border's Tianshan Sect had long since declined. As its final cult master, Perfected Tianshan had no lingering attachments and could easily walk away. But for these native Southern Border sects that were still flourishing, things were not so simple.
*Yet why hasn't Cave Master Minglei shown any hidden trouble in this regard?*
*Is it because he only recently formed his Nascent Soul, or is it Wind-Thunder Gorge...?*
Luo Chen suddenly realized that although the environment of Wind-Thunder Gorge was treacherous in the extreme, the violent clash of earthly qi and the raging wind and thunder had turned out to be a blessing in disguise, warding off the erosion of worldly origin qi.
Astute as he was, Luo Chen deduced much from their brief exchange combined with his own experience.
As for whether his deductions were correct, that would be verified later.
On the other side, seeing Left Emissary Bei Puti of the Luo Cult vacillating, Daoist Zhengguan did not press him. He turned toward Luo Chen and Cave Master Minglei.
"The last time I saw you, Cave Master, was in Taimao Immortal City. Having come to Jiu'ai Immortal City of your own accord this time, have you already noticed the changes in your cultivation?"
Cave Master Minglei opened his mouth, unable to hold back his curiosity. "What kind of changes are you referring to, Daoist Friend? Please speak plainly!"
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
Two soft sounds of surprise escaped Zhengguan and Bei Puti respectively.
They exchanged a glance, both fixing their gazes on Cave Master Minglei.
He had not been affected even now?
For a moment, the atmosphere in the hall grew strange.
Only when a light cough rang out was their staring broken.
"Ahem!"
Luo Chen said calmly, "If there is something to say, you might as well state it clearly. Minglei and I hail from a remote place and know little of the cultivation world's intelligence. There is no need to beat around the bush."
Daoist Zhengguan furrowed his brows. After a moment's hesitation, he spoke frankly:
"This sky, and this earth."
As he spoke, he pointed one finger to the sky, then to the earth.
"The heaven and earth of the Southern Border have been undergoing subtle changes."
Luo Chen appeared indifferent. "The world changes and seas turn to mulberry fields. Nothing remains immutable forever."
"It is different," Daoist Zhengguan said, shaking his head with a grave expression. "That change is top-down and irreversible. Top-tier experts have discovered that the spiritual energy between heaven and earth is steadily growing."
Cave Master Minglei was puzzled. "Isn't an increase in spiritual energy a good thing?"
Daoist Zhengguan chuckled self-deprecatingly. "For rogue cultivators, it is naturally a good thing; that is why you had the fortune to attain the Nascent Soul realm. However, because we cultivators cultivate, the world's spiritual energy should always diminish the more it is consumed. In particular, whenever a mighty figure ascends, they carry away vast reserves of spiritual energy. Where, then, does this additional spiritual energy come from?"
Cultivators drew great power into themselves!
Yet where did that power come from?
From self-cultivation alone?
No, it came from plundering and wresting spiritual energy from heaven and earth!
One could well imagine that under such continuous plundering and extraction, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth would only dwindle over time until it was exhausted, ultimately ushering in the Dharma-Ending Age.
That was why the eras had been divided into the Desolate Era, Antiquity, and the Modern Era.
In the Desolate Era, desolate beasts ran rampant, swallowing and exhaling worldly origin qi, chasing the stars and moons.
In Antiquity, demon beasts emerged in droves, wreaking havoc across the land.
And now, the human race had become the protagonists, holding exclusive dominion over the five prime continents.
Those who did not understand saw only the changing of eras, with one faction taking the stage as another stepped down.
Those who truly had insight saw the fundamental truth beneath it all.
From desolate beasts to demon beasts and finally to humans, their respective body sizes grew continuously smaller, and their consumption of spiritual energy correspondingly decreased. Humans in particular, aided by various ingenious cultivation arts, consumed less while drastically increasing their efficiency.
Yet no matter how ingeniously it was utilized, nothing could change the fact that a massive population of cultivators was wresting unquantifiable amounts of spiritual energy and locking it away inside their bodies.
Moreover, the rise of cultivation realms granted increasingly prolonged lifespans; the longer they lived, the more spiritual energy remained trapped within them.
Viewed in reverse, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth should have been gradually dwindling.
Yet now, the Southern Border's spiritual energy was growing ever more abundant!
Such an anomaly could only mean trouble!
Cave Master Minglei frowned, unable to grasp the significance.
Though Luo Chen was vastly knowledgeable and faintly understood the underlying logic, he had not yet caught the crux of the matter.
Daoist Zhengguan stopped speaking in riddles and declared bluntly, "An imbalance in heaven and earth and an intensifying surge of spiritual energy—these are the omens of an approaching spiritual energy tide! If this continues to develop, the ocean of origin qi that only Soul Transformation cultivators can explore will overturn the Southern Border, triggering a raging spiritual energy tide that will obliterate everything!"
Cave Master Minglei turned pale.
Luo Chen chuckled.
"Daoist Friend, aren't you being far too alarmist?"
Daoist Zhengguan shrugged. "Whether it is true or not, judge for yourselves. But I wish to state only two points: the frequent qi deviation experienced by high-tier Southern Border cultivators during their daily practice is one manifestation of the ocean of origin qi descending and drawing dangerously close to the Southern Border. And as for the second point... the root of this calamity lies within the Gate of Life and Death!"
*Is this why the Fierce Peak Zombie Alliance intends to attack the Gate of Life and Death?*
Luo Chen was lost in thought.
After that, there was little left to discuss.
Luo Chen and Minglei stated their original purpose for coming: they wished to attend Mount Mijie's Nascent Soul trade gathering to purchase certain resources.
Daoist Zhengguan did not refuse. He merely said they would have to wait a few days and arranged lodgings for them first.
***
"The spiritual energy in this cave abode is so rich; I shall yield it to Daoist Friend Qi!"
Bei Puti declined the Fourth-Order mid-grade cave abode that had been specially arranged for him due to his earlier arrival, opting instead for an ordinary cave abode in Jiu'ai Immortal City.
Standing to the side, Cave Master Minglei smiled. "It seems they all know of your renown. There was no need for my introduction after all!"
Luo Chen waved his hand, paying it no mind.
Reputation was a stepping stone, but how that stone was laid was also an art in itself. Without Cave Master Minglei, things could never have gone so smoothly.
Watching Luo Chen inspect the cave abode, Cave Master Minglei could not hold back.
"Brother Qi, what Zhengguan said earlier—do you think it was true or false?"
Standing at the entrance of the cultivation chamber, Luo Chen replied without turning his head, "Whether it is true or false is of little consequence. But on our very first meeting, to speak with such unwarranted intimacy and utter such grand claims about heaven and earth overturning—labeling it pure alarmism is certainly not an exaggeration."
Cave Master Minglei nodded in agreement. Back in Wind-Thunder Gorge, he had never sensed any worldly upheaval.
After a thorough inspection, Luo Chen confirmed there were no problems with the place.
He began looking forward to Mount Mijie.
The grade of the spirit veins in Jiu'ai Immortal City was already so high that it surpassed the mountain gates of many ordinary Nascent Soul upper sects.
And this was merely the gateway to Mount Mijie.
One could well imagine that the spirit veins within Mount Mijie would only be superior!
Ordinary people might shrink from unrestrained cultivation out of fear of worldly assimilation, but Luo Chen harbored no such reservations.
His robust Purple Mansion barrier, combined with the support of the Dust-Karma Immortal Mirror anchored by his three souls, was more than enough for him to cultivate without restraint.
He simply wondered what method Alliance Leader Songyang had used to resolve this issue for the others.
"Right, let me ask you something," Luo Chen said, as if suddenly remembering. He turned to Cave Master Minglei. "Do you know much about that Bei Puti?"
Cave Master Minglei paused, then answered frankly, "I have had little contact with him, so I cannot claim to know him well. However, I do know a bit about his background."
Under his recounting, Luo Chen's impression of Bei Puti became increasingly vivid.
The Luo Cult was a major power in the Southern Border!
It commanded millions of followers, and the number of its inner disciples reached several hundred thousand!
On the surface, there were six Nascent Soul True Persons within its ranks: a late-stage Nascent Soul cult master, the two mid-stage Nascent Soul Left and Right Emissaries, and three Dharma Protectors.
However, years ago, an upheaval erupted within the Luo Cult's inner sect.
Ranked alongside Bei Puti was the Luo Cult's Right Emissary, Nan Yiqi, who secretly slaughtered outstanding disciples to cultivate an evil art, even setting his sights on the three Dharma Protectors.
At the time, people assumed his temperament had drastically shifted after refining an insect like the Demon Heart Gu.
Only when the cult master personally intervened to suppress him did they discover that he had actually been practicing Northern Sea demonic arts, intending to sacrifice the entire Luo Cult to refine a Million Baleful Souls Banner capable of threatening a Soul Transformation mighty figure!
After a massive internal war, the Right Emissary Nan Yiqi vanished without a trace, and the Luo Cult suffered grievous damage to its vitality.
Having finished his tale, Cave Master Minglei could not help sighing with emotion.
"I have also heard of the Northern Sea's soul banners; their tiers are distinguished by the number of souls within. An ordinary Ten Thousand Soul Banner rivals a magic treasure, a Hundred Thousand Ferocious Soul Banner rivals a true artifact, and a Million Baleful Souls Banner is said to compare to a spirit treasure. But that Nan Yiqi was far too naive. Even if he were truly allowed to slaughter millions of the Luo Cult's members, the baleful soul banner he refined would likely have been chaotic and impure. How could it possibly threaten a Soul Transformation mighty figure?"
Luo Chen nodded in agreement.
Refining a soul banner was not simply a matter of the quantity of souls; quality was equally vital.
A Million Baleful Souls Banner comparable to a spirit treasure required at least a hundred Nascent Soul-level souls, as well as a Soul Transformation-grade primary soul.
Nan Yiqi had taken the wrong path.
Suddenly, Luo Chen finally understood why Bei Puti had given him that faint sense of familiarity.
*Nan Yiqi, Bei Puti... Heh, that Old Ghost Nanqi I crossed paths with back in the Moluo Stream of the Northern Sea—wasn't the aura he carried identical to what I sensed on Bei Puti?*
Having thought this through, Luo Chen saw off Cave Master Minglei and sealed the cave abode.
The changes in the Southern Border were perilous for others.
Yet for him, they were nothing short of a blessed opportunity.
As long as his Purple Mansion was tightly locked and aided by the Dust-Karma Immortal Mirror, he could cultivate to his heart's content!
Chapter 945