Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie were suddenly covered from head to toe, and both trembled.
But they understood almost immediately and did not resist, allowing the Sect Master’s sleeve to gather them inside.
Then everything went dark.
The ground beneath their feet was extraordinarily soft. If they stepped down firmly, it felt like punching cotton, with no solid resistance at all.
Xu Ziqing knew that this technique was called A World Within the Sleeve. He could already use it himself, but there was absolutely no way he could enclose cultivators of his own realm, much less Nascent Soul ancestors. The robe he wore would burst apart if he tried.
It was clear that the Sect Master’s outer robe was itself far from ordinary.
Since they had already been gathered inside, the two sat down together, holding hands.
Soon both felt a spell of dizziness. The inside of the sleeve seemed to sway and tremble, requiring them to steady their minds to remain balanced.
After thinking for a moment, Xu Ziqing said, “The storm in the world gate really is extraordinary.”
Only those hurricanes could have affected the World Within the Sleeve technique in this way.
Yun Lie nodded slightly. “We may still have to travel for some time.”
Sure enough, another five days and five nights passed before the shaking finally stopped.
Xu Ziqing could not help feeling astonished. “No wonder the Sect Master warned us not to waste our strength. If we’d tried to withstand the storm directly, our true essence might have been completely exhausted.”
Yun Lie replied, “There should be no more danger now.”
Another full day and night passed. Then both felt a repelling force appear around their bodies.
Clearly the Sect Master was about to release his technique.
Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie felt their bodies shift and found themselves standing on level ground.
In an instant, a tremendous pressure seemed to close in from every direction, as though an entire mountain had fallen upon them or countless streams of mercury were pressing from all sides. It felt as though the force meant to enter every pore and crush their internal organs into a lump of mangled flesh.
Yun Lie showed no visible change.
Xu Ziqing’s heart stirred. He circulated his true essence once, and the pressure disappeared as well.
He was secretly astonished. The crushing force had clearly been caused by spiritual energy of extraordinary density. Could the spiritual energy of the Qianyuan Great World truly be this thick?
Even the core of a third-rank spirit vein was only slightly richer than the energy around them!
Not far ahead stood the scholar-robed youth, his hands behind his back. He turned and smiled faintly. “Well?”
Xu Ziqing hesitated. “Is this… the Qianyuan Great World?”
The Sect Master smiled. “It is.”
Xu Ziqing said slowly, “It truly is extraordinary.”
The spiritual energy of an upper-three-thousand world was so abundant that all cultivators there effectively grew up cultivating in an environment nearly equal to a third-rank spirit vein. No wonder their strength so greatly exceeded those in middle worlds. It was only natural that more valuable spiritual roots and more extraordinarily gifted geniuses could be nurtured in such a place.
The Sect Master saw that Xu Ziqing’s expression changed only briefly before he became calm again, and privately approved.
This young man understood things quickly and could immediately see the implications, yet his temperament remained composed and openhearted, undisturbed by wild speculation. He was truly promising.
The Sect Master had always had faith in Yun Lie. Now he felt even more confident in Xu Ziqing.
Before long, the Sect Master sent a signal arrow skyward.
He explained, “I previously informed the main sect that we would be crossing the world gate around this time. Those coming to receive us should arrive soon. I’m simply telling them where we are.”
Xu Ziqing nodded and waited for further instructions.
After about half a ke, a violent wind rose in the distance.
The force was overwhelmingly powerful, mingled with vast pressure and a faint bloody, animal scent. It seemed that some mighty beast was approaching!
The wind was so fierce that it nearly obscured the view.
But to the cultivators standing there, it was nothing.
Their vision was not affected in the slightest.
Xu Ziqing looked up and immediately saw an immense body approaching at tremendous speed.
The creature was over a hundred zhang long, covered in brilliant blue scales as clear and beautiful as deep seawater.
As it flew, grass and trees bent low, and everything beneath it seemed to bow before its majestic power.
It was a blue flood dragon!
A demon beast at the peak of the seventh rank, almost at the eighth!
Xu Ziqing had seen flood-dragon demon beasts before, including a green flood dragon of the seventh rank.
Yet although that green flood dragon had been powerful, its dragon might was not fully developed and could not compare with even a fraction of this blue one’s majesty.
How else could its presence intimidate everything around it before its body had even arrived?
A single horn grew from the dragon’s head. Behind it stood a proud-looking man over nine chi tall, bronze-skinned, with sharply defined features and a fierce, vigorous bearing.
The blue flood dragon soon drew near, lowered its head, and brought its enormous face almost to the ground. Its fearsome features were terrifying to behold.
The man laughed heartily and cupped his fists. “Sect Master Ji, I trust you’ve been well since we last met!”
The Sect Master smiled at him. “I’ve brought you two talents of excellent aptitude. Make certain their abilities aren’t wasted.”
The rugged man looked both youths over and showed a trace of approval. “They do seem promising.” He pointed at Yun Lie. “This must be the new Slaughter Sword Peak Master, the Nascent Soul ancestor who’s not yet two hundred?”
Yun Lie nodded slightly without saying much.
The man rubbed his chin and smiled. “Interesting.” Then he pointed at Xu Ziqing. “And this one… his cultivation seems a little low?”
Xu Ziqing did not know whether he ought to answer.
Before he could decide, the Sect Master smiled and explained, “Xu Ziqing is Yun Lie’s dual-cultivation Dao companion. Their affection is profound, so he has come along with Yun Lie this time.”
The rugged man understood. “So they’re Dao companions whose lives are linked. In that case a special exception to admit him is certainly possible.”
The Sect Master then exchanged a few more words with the man, mainly asking him to take good care of the two disciples.
Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie stood respectfully to one side without interrupting.
Before long, the conversation ended.
The Sect Master instructed the two, “This Honored Master Xing is an exceptionally talented member of our Wuling lineage. Follow him, and he’ll bring you to our people and help you settle in.”
Both Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie answered, “Yes.”
The Sect Master considered whether he had forgotten anything, then dusted his sleeves and turned to leave.
Cultivators were naturally free-spirited. There was no need for a lengthy or sentimental farewell when everything necessary had been said.
Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie watched the Sect Master go. Once the world gate closed behind him, they turned to bow respectfully to Honored Master Xing.
The honored master had waited without taking offense. He simply smiled. “Quickly, you two, climb onto Lan’er. I’ll take you back.”
Hearing the name “Lan’er,” Xu Ziqing was a little surprised. Such a majestic blue flood dragon had been given such a… gentle name? But it was none of his concern. He glanced at Yun Lie, and the two clasped hands and stepped onto the dragon.
Honored Master Xing remained standing upon its head. Yun Lie and Xu Ziqing withdrew several steps and stood just behind its skull.
The blue dragon’s body was immense, so there was plenty of room for them to stand shoulder to shoulder.
Soon the flood dragon raised its head, flicked its long tail, and set off on the return journey, moving gracefully through the air as though swimming in the sea.
It traveled even faster than Chonghua at his maximum speed, yet the air around them remained so smooth that there was not the slightest jolt.
A beast companion like this would inspire envy in anyone who saw it.
The blue flood dragon continued through the sky for roughly two or three months. Xu Ziqing gradually changed from standing to sitting cross-legged, and eventually began cultivating directly where he sat.
Spiritual energy poured in from the sky, making his true essence rapidly denser. After so much time, his cultivation seemed to have improved another fraction. Yun Lie did not absorb the surrounding energy. Instead he released a strand of sword intent before himself and continually polished and contemplated it.
The days passed rapidly, and neither man felt the slightest boredom.
Honored Master Xing usually did not speak with them or offer guidance. He did, however, observe them carefully.
Both knew that he was evaluating them, yet remained as calm as always, considering it nothing deserving special treatment.
In this way, a subtle but stable equilibrium developed among them.
At last they reached the Zhoutian Immortal Sect.
The moment they approached its outer boundary, Xu Ziqing was astonished.
The gateway towered unimaginably high. He could not identify the material from which its doors were made, and their tops rose beyond sight.
The doors were also many li wide, impossible to comprehend with the naked eye unless one swept them with spiritual sense.
Honored Master Xing noticed Xu Ziqing’s astonishment but offered no explanation. He simply patted the blue flood dragon and had it fly straight inside.
Once they had entered the gate, Xu Ziqing looked downward.
An immeasurable expanse of land lay beneath them.
There were endless plains, mountains, and cities, much like the kingdoms Xu Ziqing had seen before.
Yet there was not a single mortal in those countries. Every inhabitant was a cultivator.
Their population was beyond counting.
Honored Master Xing suddenly explained, “This is the outer sect. The affiliated clans, schools, gangs, alliances, and countless other powers each have their own allotted territory here.”
Xu Ziqing was secretly astonished and looked toward his senior brother.
Yun Lie said, “Mortal children born here must be sent to the cities.”
Honored Master Xing laughed. “Correct.”
Xu Ziqing understood.
Even when two cultivators had children together, there was no guarantee the children would possess spiritual roots.
Most likely those without spiritual roots could not enter the outer sect and were sent elsewhere to be raised. Xu Ziqing had previously seen an enormous city, spreading across an almost immeasurable region, in which mortals and cultivators lived together. For the long term, those mortals without spiritual roots presumably lived in such cities.
The Zhoutian Immortal Sect conducted itself in a manner much more domineering and uncompromising than the Wuling Immortal Sect.
Xu Ziqing’s inference was correct. The mortals moved to those cities were also required to contribute to the sect.
What he did not yet know was that mortals in the Qianyuan Great World occupied a far lower position than mortals in middle and lower great worlds. Among those mortals, anyone backed only by ordinary cultivators, or by none at all, held even lower status than those supported by a sect.
He had not yet glimpsed even a fraction of the cruelty involved.
After the blue flood dragon crossed the outer sect, the inner sect came into view.
A colossal formation lay there, seeming to contain innumerable illusions. Merely looking toward it threatened to make one’s head spin.
Xu Ziqing was briefly dazzled before recovering.
What an extraordinary formation! It could intimidate someone without their even touching it!
Honored Master Xing was thoroughly accustomed to it. He raised his palm, conjured an enormous mass of qi, and sent it straight into the illusion formation.
In an instant, the formation was blasted apart, revealing the inner sect beyond.
The blue flood dragon darted through, while the illusion formation immediately restored itself behind them.
Still shaken, Xu Ziqing raised his head.
In the next instant, his pupils contracted sharply and his heart began to race.
Heaven-supporting pillars!
Countless enormous pillars rose directly into the clouds!