Liang Chen left behind Lei Qiang and returned to the entrance of the city, showing the caravan leader his identification token and then boarding the wagon he had used during these last thirteen days. He once again sat down on the simple bed, crossing his legs and closing his eyes as he returned to his cultivation.
He had managed to turn all the bone marrow in the fingers on his right hand into liquid lightning, so the next step was to start focusing on the rest of the bones in his right hand. At the same time as he did so, he decided to split off a part of his mind, having it focus on absorbing the surrounding Qi and slowly raise his cultivation.
After around two hours, the caravan started its return journey to Wind's Whisper city, now carrying far fewer people as most of the passengers stayed in Eternal Stream city.
The number of bandit attacks they encountered on the return journey was actually greater than the number of attacks they had encountered on the journey to Eternal Stream city. It seemed like the bandits were rather well-informed, aware of the fact that the caravan now carried fewer people.
But the attacks were never a real threat to the caravan, not with Liang Chen being one of the passengers. The Fallen Cloud continent had a vast population, so there was no shortage of bandits, but all those bandits were only at the Ascended Tower realm, they were people of no threat to Liang Chen.
The reason it was like this was actually fairly simple, cultivators who had reached the Heaven's Gate realm wouldn't settle for robbing normal people, they would rob other cultivators who had somewhat similar strength. Normal people wouldn't have any resources that were worth anything to cultivators at the Heaven's Gate realm, so there was no point in robbing them.
For this reason, most cultivators that had reached the Heaven's Gate realm would either move to the Soaring Cloud continent or only loiter around the largest cities on the Fallen Cloud continent, the capitals that were closer to the five clans. Or at least, that was what the map given to Liang Chen by Yan Ying said.
After reaching Wind's Whisper city, Liang Chen paid for a seat on another caravan that would head for Horizon Plain nation. After waiting for three days, he met up with the caravan and they set off for Horizon's Gate, a city at the very edge of Horizon Plain nation, reaching it after eight days.
Horizon Plain nation got its name from the location of the nation, which was a single massive plain that was nearly completely flat. There weren't any mountains or even any forests, only a few lakes spread through the plain that was covered in knee-high lush green grass. Liang Chen had no intention to stay in this nation for long, so he only gave the surroundings a few glances before returning to cultivation.
But there wasn't any caravan that went directly through Horizon Plain nation, so Liang Chen switched rides several times, moving from one city to the other. He didn't have to worry too much about his funds drying up, as everytime they were attacked by bandits, he would retrieve the funds of the dead bandits after the battles.
Since Horizon Plain nation was so flat, the caravans didn't have to make any detours around forests or mountains, only rarely moving around some of the spread lakes. Because of this, Liang Chen only needed two months to reach the other edge of the Horizon Plain nation, at the edge of the Crimson Desert nation.
During these two months, Liang Chen only rarely interrupted his cultivation, hoping to increase it as fast as possible. But his average talent perfectly displayed itself, his progress only able to be called lackluster.
The buds on his three lotuses had grown somewhat, but they were still a bit of a distance away from blooming. As for his Lightning God Physique, after he finished up all the bone marrow in his right hand, his progress slowed down quite a bit. Right now, he had only managed to finish up the bone marrow in his right hand and halfway up to his elbow.
Even if he used his laws of time, he was unable to keep it active long enough to have it make any proper difference, so he could only choose to use a different method right now.
The caravan he was riding on stopped in a city called Mirror Lake city, the city located right at the edge of the Horizon Plain nation. The city wasn't as orderly and organized as Eternal Stream city, the houses following no set pattern, seemingly built using all types of different materials and came in all shapes and sizes. It resembled Green Rivers city more than it did Eternal Stream city.
This city was a bit smaller than Eternal Stream city, but it was still large enough to house a branch of the Eternal Dragon Pavilion and the Diamond Hand Merchants, so once the caravan stopped, Liang Chen headed directly for the building of the Diamond Hand Merchants.
The building was in the shape of a pagoda with three floors, the outside of the pagoda painted a brilliant white that shone under the light of the sun. This was the first time Liang Chen had ever entered one of these buildings, but he had been told that they sold just about everything, so he guessed that they would have what he was looking for.
He entered the first floor, which consisted of a large circular hall. Various booths and stalls were set up around the hall, people of all ages and sizes shouting out what they were selling, hoping to draw customers. At the very center of the hall stood a wooden spiraling staircase that stretched upwards, leading to the higher floors.
The entire staircase was surrounded by a round counter, five young and elegant women clad in white robes standing behind the counters. Embroidered on the chests of the women's robes was the insignia of the Diamond Hand Merchants, a large hand grasping a shimmering gem. Looking at it, it seemed like one had to talk to one of these women if one wanted to go to the higher floors, which was where the actual Diamond Hand Merchants were located, the bottom floor was open for others to sell their wares.
Liang Chen didn't bother checking the various stalls and booths, heading directly for the round counter that surrounded the staircase. One of the five women, a girl with blonde hair and emerald green eyes, spotted him as he approached so she put on a charming smile and awaited his arrival. Liang Chen didn't waste any time, directly stating what he was looking for.
"Do you have the blood of Demonic beasts that had the poison or the lightning element while they were alive?"
Since his talent was so average that it would take him a bit of time to increase his cultivation on his own, he decided to use the way that his Heaven Devouring Dragon bloodline offered him, absorbing the energy in Demonic beast blood or other resources that carried his elements. The blonde woman gave a slight nod of her head, swiping her interspatial ring and handing Liang Chen a small jade orb that was green in color.
"We do, here is a list of our stock and their prices."
Liang Chen accepted the orb and sank part of his mind into it, quickly scanning over the listed contents. The jade contained information about all the various types of Demonic beast blood that they had available at hand, and just looking at all the different types was enough to almost make Liang Chen's head spin. After going over the entire list, Liang Chen settled on two different types of Demonic beast blood.
"I'll take two jugs, one containing the blood of the Horizon Swallower and one containing the blood of the Skyborne Salamander. This should cover it."
He handed the orb back to the woman, giving her a vial filled with pills. He didn't have many Spirit Stones, so he could only use some of the pills Yan Ying had given him as payment, letting the Diamond Hand Merchants convert the pills into Spirit Stones.
The Horizon Swallower was a type of turtle Demonic beast that buried itself in the ground, only keeping a small flower that grew out from its nose sticking out from the ground. Once prey got close enough, the beast had the flower release a poisonous fragrance that numbed the prey, allowing the Horizon Swallower to burst forth and swallow the prey whole.
The Skyborne Salamander, on the other hand, was a Demonic beast that was literally born in the sky, amongst dark clouds filled with lightning. The adult Skyborne Salamanders would use the energy in these bolts of lightning to fuel the growth of their children, allowing them to be born with control over lightning.
Horizon Swallowers were native to the Horizon Plain, the Violet Grass, and the Glacial Dance nation. The Skyborne Salamanders, on the other hand, were found in almost all nations, following the dark clouds that they called home. The jugs of blood that Liang Chen bought came from Demonic beasts that had reached Rank 4, meaning that they had the strength of someone at the Heavens Gate realm, perfect for him.
After receiving the orb and the vial of pills, the blonde haired woman gave the pills a quick check, calculating their worth. Once she made sure that the pills were worth enough, she told Liang Chen to stay put and then ascended the spiraling staircase. She came back after around ten minutes, carrying three small leather bags, handing all three to Liang Chen with a smile.
"Thank you, please come again."
Liang Chen gave the three bags a quick check, going over their contents. Two of the bags contained the clay jugs he had paid for, while the third one contained around 15 Spirit Stones, the remaining change. He gave a slight nod of his head, storing all three bags into his interspatial ring and leaving the pagoda.
He then headed to the Eternal Dragon Pavilion, paying for a seat on a caravan that was entering the Crimson Desert nation. There were two caravans he could choose from, one that left tomorrow, and one that left in a week. After giving it a bit of thought, he bought a seat on the one that left in a week.
After paying for the seat, Liang Chen left the city, walking past the completely still and reflective lake that had given the city its name. He continued to move until he was a good distance away from the city and had reached a completely empty spot. He then sat down on the ground, taking out the two jugs of blood and placing them in front of him, letting his finger slide across them as he muttered to himself.
"This should be enough to bloom one leaf, pushing me to the early stage of the Heaven's Gate realm."
Liang Chen was uncertain what would happen once he entered the Heaven's Gate realm, but it was said to be the demarcating line between a mortal and a cultivator. He removed the lid on the two jugs, the sweet smell of blood tickling his nose. His eyes were determined as he lifted the jugs and poured their contents over his head, drenching his body in it.
With the blood drenching his body, a strange sensation filled Liang Chen's body. It wasn't the usual painful sensation where his body felt like it was being torn apart, it was slightly different. The pain was still there, but mixed with it now was a strange feeling of pleasure, every part of his being greedily devouring the energy in the blood, rejoicing at the fact that it got to devour it.
Liang Chen ignored the strange mixture of pleasure and pain, focusing on guiding the energy within the blood. The energy within the blood turned into two bloody streams, one sinking into his lightning lotus and the other into his poison lotus, acting as manure for them.
While the two bloody streams worked on those two lotuses, a small grey stream of energy flowed out from Liang Chen's mind and sank into his time lotus, slowly helping it grow. He didn't have any resources that had the element of time, but thanks to the information that his parents had sealed in his mind, he had some understanding about the law of time, an understanding that had slowly grown as he rode the various caravans.
It wasn't very deep or profound understanding, it was mainly about how peaceful of a law time was. It didn't use an ounce of violence or cause any destruction, it simply passed by in a calm and indifferent manner, turning everything in its wake to dust. The understanding was only the most basic understanding of time, but it was enough to help Liang Chen's lotus of time bloom one leaf.
The three streams of energy slowly caused the bud on the three lotuses bloom, fully forming after four days. The lightning lotus got a deep violet leaf, the poison lotus got a pure white leaf, while the time lotus got a leaf that was a ghastly grey in color. And once each of his lotuses had grown a single leaf, the world around him turned dark. Liang Chen raised his head, a disdainful smile appearing on his face.
"Deep blue clouds, so you rear your ugly head again."
Deep blue clouds had gathered above him, azure bolts of lightning flickering around within the clouds. Just like when his two seeds first cracked, another heavenly lightning tribulation had come in an attempt to strike him down. Liang Chen stood up, glaring at the clouds, mocking in a loud voice.
"What, you can show up for this, but not when countless people all around the world perform vile deeds? You are not only useless, but you are also worthless."
To him, the heavens were not only cruel and indifferent, but they were also worthless. The deep blue clouds did not respond to his mocking, a thick bold of azure lightning flashing down and crashing into Liang Chen's body. But these azure bolts of lightning were already useless against Liang Chen, who had been baptized by them several times before, even having been baptized by stronger types of heavenly lightning.
Once the azure lightning entered his body, it was immediately forced to listen to his orders, moving as he wished it to. He used part of the lightning to continue his cultivation of the Lightning God Physique, forcing it into the bone marrow on his right arm. The bone marrow in his right hand and halfway up to his elbow was already liquid golden lightning, so it was easy to upgrade it to become liquid azure lightning thanks to the copious amount of tribulation lightning.
He first changed the bone marrow in the tip of his pinky, checking if it was indeed possible to upgrade from golden to azure lightning. Because if it was indeed possible, he could just focus on using his own azure lightning to finish the technique. The only reason he had used his golden lightning at the start was the fact that he was a bit worried about immediately hopping to azure lightning, worried that something would go wrong.
But there were no problems, the liquid golden lightning that was his bone marrow turned azure in color and the bone marrow in his right hand grew even stronger. He didn't use all the azure lightning from the heavenly tribulation to focus on his bone marrow, channeling some into his lightning lotus as well. As for the last part, it was automatically absorbed by the black egg that was residing within his dantian, the creature within it using the energy in the lightning to fuel its own growth.
Six bolts of azure lightning struck him, and once the last one hit him, the blue clouds started to dissipate and vanish, returning the sky to the clear state it had been in before. Liang Chen looked at the dissipating clouds, a slight sneer appearing at the corners of his mouth.
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"Just as weak as the first time, you better bring something stronger next time."
He quickly used up all the energy in the lightning, changing all the bone marrow in his right arm, up to his elbow at least, into liquid azure lightning. The violet color of his lightning lotus had also grown even deeper, the single leaf turning lusher. As for the egg in his dantian, it had started to pulsate slightly, the lifeforce of the creature within it growing stronger. If he could feed it some more energy like this, it should be able to escape the egg soon.
Liang Chen didn't immediately return to the city, spending a bit more time on his three lotuses and checking for any changes. The most prevalent change that he noticed was his Qi. His Qi had previously been similar to a light fog, but now it had become thick and viscous, almost like blood. As it flowed through his body, it felt purer and stronger than before, slightly nurturing his body and soul, increasing not only his vitality but also his life force, increasing his lifespan.
Since his Qi was now purer and stronger, he had to only use a fraction of the Qi he had needed to use to produce certain results earlier. His law of time for example, before he broke through, he could double the speed of time around him and keep it active for half an hour. But now? Now he could at least quadruple the speed of time in a one-meter circle around him, even keeping it active for around two hours before he had to restore his energy.
That meant that as long as no one else entered that one-meter circle, forcing his Qi to act on their time as well, he could turn two hours of cultivation into eight hours, a very good increase for him. After ascertaining the effects of his increased cultivation, Liang Chen returned to Mirror Lake city and waited out the last few days before the caravan left.
He joined the caravan and started making his way through the Crimson Desert nation, which was a very arid nation that was practically just one large desert. The sand was crimson in color, releasing such a large amount of heat that normal mortals were unable to step on it. They were forced to use a special type of cloth, a cloth that was woven from the silk of a weak race of Demonic beasts that was known as Glacial Silkworms, that they covered their bodies with, as well as covering the bodies of their steeds.
The cities of this nation were either located around some of the spread oases or inside the valleys located between some large mountains, using the looming shadows to cool the blazing sand.
Despite the fact that traveling through this nation was more troublesome than traveling through the Horizon Plain nation was, this nation was much smaller, so it only took Liang Chen one month to reach the edge of this Crimson Desert nation and arrive at the Whitefall nation.
Whitefall nation received its name from its national sight, a mountain that went straight up and pierced into the clouds like a spear, a massive waterfall cascading down the side of the mountain. But this waterfall fell very slowly and gently, and the water was completely white, like milk. The legends said that this mountain was where the grand Argent Spear had met his end, allowing his spear to pierce the heavens one final time before he died, his blood cascaded down the side of the spear, allowing it to nourish the land of his birth.
Of course, whether or not this legend was true was unknown, as this mountain had stood here for as long as people could remember. Liang Chen continued to hitch a ride with several caravans, reaching the eastern end of the nation after 11 days, arriving at his goal, Myriad Flowers Valley.
Just as the name suggested, this city was located in a very deep and very long valley that stretched far into the distance. But the valley wasn't arid and desolate, it was lush and filled with blooming flowers. A soft breeze blew through the entire valley, bringing along the fragrance of flowers as it gently brushed past all the living beings in the valley.
Myriad Flowers Valley was located at the center of this valley, surrounded by all sorts of brilliant colors and delicate fragrances. The city seemed to be located in a safe location, as it didn't even have a defensive wall surrounding it, it was completely open to the outside world. The buildings in the city were all built using earth, flowers growing out from the walls and the roofs, causing the city to almost blend in with the rest of the valley. Were it not for the paved roads covered in gray stone, it would be hard to even spot the city and know where one could walk.
Liang Chen entered the city, asking some of the people he saw on the streets about the various families that he was looking for. After asking for some directions, he quickly reached a rather large building that consisted of several long and thing buildings that were connected together to form a large square with an open space in the middle.
This was the Dancing Flowers sect, the small sect that the deceased Xin Yating had been a part of. He told a young male disciple that was just about to enter the sect why he was here, the face of the disciple quickly turning pale. He ran into the sect, quickly returning with two people, a man and a woman, both who were reaching their late sixties.
The man had short black hair that was slowly turning gray, while the woman had rather long azure hair that was starting to turn gray. Both of them were at the middle stage of the Houtian Tower realm, so despite reaching their late sixties, their backs were still completely straight. But as they looked at the necklace that Liang Chen handed them, a necklace in the shape of a purple flower, their faces lost all color, their eyes turning red as tears started to run down their cheeks. The man's voice was hoarse, but he still managed to speak out in a low voice.
"Could you... Could you tell us how she died?"
Liang Chen's eyebrow ticked slightly, a somewhat complex expression appearing on his face. After a short moment of hesitation, he shook his head and spoke out with a sigh.
"They died undertaking one of the trials of the hidden realm, but they wanted me to deliver their mementos to you."
Was it better to tell them the truth that he had killed them and let them know who to hate, or was it better to hide the truth so that they wouldn't grow to hate him, allowing them to believe that they had died because of a trial? Liang Chen couldn't come up with an answer to this question, couldn't figure out which one of the two options was better, so he only gave a vague and unsatisfying answer. The man gave a weak nod of his head, hugging his wife.
"I see, so she really did die in that accursed hidden realm."
The man raised his head to the sky, tears continuing to run down his cheeks as a very low and soft voice escaped his lips, a voice containing unimaginable grief and loss.
"You fool... I told you that you shouldn't go there..."
The two continued to cry, tightly grasping that necklace, as if the necklace was their dead daughter. The two gave Liang Chen a deep bow, their bodies somewhat unsteady as the man spoke up.
"Thank you... thank you for being a good friend and delivering her mementos."
Liang Chen didn't say anything, he simply turned around and walked away. Liang Chen had killed quite a few people, and he didn't regret killing a single one of them, as each had come to kill him. But this was the first time Liang Chen saw the consequences of his kills, the first time he saw those who were left alone to grieve the loss. Seeing them reminded him of himself after he lost his parents, and he would be lying if he said it didn't hurt a little.
But he wouldn't change his course, for he believed that he was right, so he would continue to move forward, no matter what sort of ending this path brought him.
He delivered the rest of the mementos, Lin Chan's beaded bracelet, Dong Lim's silver sword, Zhan Huan's green ring, and Huo De's yellow ring. Their families reacted much like Xin Yating's had, grieving their loss and thanking Liang Chen for delivering their mementos. Liang Chen left the city right after delivering all the mementos, a slightly bitter taste in his mouth.
He hopped right onto a new caravan, leaving the Whitefall nation and returning to the Crimson Desert nation. He couldn't find his Big Sister Chun, and the parents of Bai Changwu, the third caravan guard who had died while Liang Chen traveled with Yi Huang, were being taken care of by Yi Huang and the others, so he didn't have to do anything for them. Because of this, it was now time for him to head to the Storm Wolf sect.
He returned to the Crimson Desert nation, retracing his steps until he reached the center of the nation. Once he reached the center, he hopped on a caravan heading to the west, a caravan that would take him to the very edge of this continent, to the Immortal King's Ocean.
The Immortal King's Ocean was the ocean that covered most of this planet, and according to the legends, it got its name because there was apparently a monstrous king living at the bottom of the ocean, ruling over every inch of it. Of course, this was just a legend Liang Chen heard as a child, whether or not it was true was unknown.
One and a half month after leaving Myriad Flowers Valley, Liang Chen reached the western end of the Crimson Desert nation. The western end of the nation was a massive beach, a deep blue sea spreading out as far as he could see. There was a single city standing on the massive beach, Rose Reef city, the city connecting this continent to the island nation known as Floating Rose.
Liang Chen entered the city, which was built using a type of pink stone that was very common in the vast ocean, it was this stone that had given both the nation and the city the name Rose. He hired the captain of a small ship to ferry him to the Floating Rose nation, setting out before the sun even set.
The island, which was shaped like the petal of a flower, wasn't located too far from the shore, so Liang Chen reached it after only six days. He thanked the captain and then entered Rose King city, the capital of Floating Rose and the only other city that the Floating Rose nation had, other than the distant Rose Reef.
This city was far grander than the other ones that Liang Chen had entered on this long journey that had already taken half a year of his time. Even the smallest building was three stories tall, and almost all the buildings were dark pink in color. And located at the very center of the city stood a large palace, nine spires in nine different colors surrounding the square palace topped with a circular dome. This palace was the largest branch of the Bai clan, the clan that controlled this nation.
It was also the place one had to go if they wanted to go to the Storm Wolf sect, so Liang Chen headed directly for it. Or rather, he was heading for one of the nine spires, a deep green spire that was engraved with a howling wolf. At the bottom of this spire, in front of a large wooden gate, stood two people clad in cyan armor, a strong fluctuation of energy radiating from their bodies. Once Liang Chen approached them, the two armored men pulled out thick sabers, forming them into a cross in front of the door.
"Halt! Only members of the Storm Wolf sect are allowed to move past here."
Their actions didn't come as a surprise to Liang Chen, who quickly stopped and raised his arms to show that he didn't hold any hostility. He quickly stated his purpose for coming.
"I am a member, or at least I am going to be soon. You can send a message that Liang Chen has come to join the Storm Wolf sect."
Surprisingly enough, after Liang Chen stated his name, the eyebrows of the two armored guards couldn't help but raise, the both of them giving Liang Chen a deep look. Of course, thanks to their helmets, Liang Chen was unable to see this. One of the guards spoke up after a moment of hesitation, giving a nod of his head.
"You're... Liang Chen? Alright, I'll send the message, please wait here."
The guard swiped ring that was fitted on his armored glows, taking out a jade slip that was deep green in color. He sent a bit of his Qi into it, transmitting his words alongside the Qi. After waiting for a few minutes, the jade slip lit up with a faint light, a stream of Qi flying out from it and entering the guard. Once the Qi entered his body, the guard gave a nod of his head.
"Your identity has been confirmed, please follow me."
Liang Chen followed the guard into the spire, entering a large hall that was completely empty. The floor of the hall was engraved with deep red runes that formed a large formation, a faint sweet smell tickling Liang Chen's nose, letting him know that these runes were carved using Demonic beast blood. The guard swiped his ring once more, taking out several nearly translucent Spirit Stones and placing them at the edges of the formation. Once he had placed 25 stones the guard stepped back, pointing at the center of the formation.
"This formation will take you directly to the entrance of the Storm Wolf sect, from there you only have to follow the path."
Liang Chen gave a nod of his head, stepping into the center of the formation, that was already starting to release a strong light. He looked at the guard, giving him another nod before the guard left the room.
"Thank you."
It had already been half a year since he left the Mystic's Hidden Realm, it was finally time for him to head to the Storm Wolf sect and meet up with Yan Ying and Yan Ling again, it was finally time for him to start stepping onto the grander stage, onto the same stage as Qing Lan Yong. With those thoughts in mind, a silver light flashed in front of Liang Chen's eyes and he vanished from the Fallen Cloud continent.