Setting Out Alone

Setting Out Alone

The way out of the Primordial Forbidden Land was simple: just walk with your back to that abyss.

"Head in that direction, and you'll be able to leave the Primordial Forbidden Land!" Zhou Tong pointed ahead, then said, "I won't be going with you. I'm leaving first."

"What? Little Tyrant, why?" Zhou Yi cried out.

"Zhou Tong, you should stay!" Wang Ziwen urged from the side. "We came here together. We can look out for one another."

The other students also spoke up one after another, urging Zhou Tong to stay.

He was the only one here who had embarked on the path of cultivation. With him around, the group felt far more at ease.

Zhou Tong shook his head. "You're still mortals, so the Primordial Forbidden Land affects you the least. I've already begun cultivating, and I can't endure this place for long. If I keep pace with you, I'll definitely die here."

"Say no more. I'm leaving first." With that, Zhou Tong did not hesitate in the slightest. Ignoring all concern for appearances, he sprinted straight out.

What a joke. Within the Primordial Forbidden Land, the higher one's cultivation, the faster one's life force drained away—and that speed only increased with time.

These ordinary mortals who had never cultivated could last a day or two inside, but as for him, he probably could not even hold on for half a day.

Although drinking Divine Spring could ease the symptoms, that stuff was a treasure. How could he waste it so casually?

He was not like Ye Fan, who could rely on his extraordinarily capable younger sister and treat the Primordial Forbidden Land like his own backyard. He likely would not return to the Primordial Forbidden Land for a long time, and once he left, there would be no more source of Divine Spring!

That made it even more impossible to waste it recklessly.

He would have to use the Divine Spring sparingly from now on.

As for what would happen to those classmates next, that was no longer Zhou Tong's concern.

He had escorted them all the way here. He had already done everything he could.

In the original story, by the time they arrived in the Big Dipper, half of them had already died, and Li Xiaoman had even been possessed by a Crocodile Ancestor avatar. But now, not a single person had died, and Li Xiaoman was unharmed. It was all thanks to Zhou Tong's secret protection.

"Perhaps this group might produce a few more great cultivators?" Zhou Tong could not help thinking.

Among this batch of people, every one of those who survived later achieved something extraordinary. Perhaps with twice as many people, there might be twice as many great cultivators in the future?

But that was only wishful thinking. What happened from here on would depend on their own journeys.

It was enough for Zhou Tong to take care of himself.

With Zhou Tong's pace and speed, once he left Ye Fan and the others behind, he moved faster and faster. Before long, he was practically flying. In less than a quarter of an hour, he had already left the Primordial Forbidden Land.

"I've finally left the Primordial Forbidden Land. I finally don't have to keep worrying about what that brother-obsessed Ruthless Person might do to me." After coming out, Zhou Tong could not help letting out a deep breath.

He immediately sat down cross-legged and inspected his Wheel Sea. To his surprise, three more marks had appeared on his once flawless, crystalline Life Wheel.

"The Primordial Forbidden Land is truly ruthless. In just a quarter of an hour, it shaved three years off my lifespan. That was only because part of the divine medicine's fruit had yet to be fully refined, and its remaining medicinal power offset some of the force!" The thought still left Zhou Tong shaken.

A forbidden land truly deserved its name. It was simply too terrifying.

Fortunately, he had now passed the greatest trial and truly entered the world of cultivation.

"The real cultivation world..." Zhou Tong shook his head, then steadied himself. "For now, I should break through to the Dao Palace Realm first!"

Having left the Primordial Forbidden Land, Zhou Tong felt completely unburdened. He casually rode a rainbow for dozens of li.

Eventually, he found a valley with relatively abundant spiritual energy that was also fairly secluded. He casually laid down some Array Patterns nearby, then took the Purple Sun Lamp out of his Wheel Sea and poured in a little Divine Spring as fuel. At once, hazy lamplight enveloped the entire valley.

Once everything was foolproof, Zhou Tong immediately sat down cross-legged.

Yet even as he did so, he was considering which scripture he should use to advance into the Dao Palace Realm.

At present, Zhou Tong possessed three Great Emperor-level scriptures for the Dao Palace Realm: the Feather Transformation Scripture, the Emperor Zun Scripture, and the Carefree Immortal Scripture, created respectively by the Feather Ascension Great Emperor, Emperor Venerable, and the Carefree Immortal Venerable.

"My Sea of Wheels Realm was completed through the Feather Transformation Scripture. Logically, continuing to cultivate the Feather Transformation Scripture in the Dao Palace Realm would be an excellent choice. But I only have its Sea of Wheels Scroll and Dao Palace Scroll, not the later sections."

"The Carefree Immortal Scripture is the most complete scripture in my possession. Aside from the foundational Sea of Wheels Scroll, it contains the cultivation methods for all the other four great realms."

"Still, when it comes down to it, I haven't obtained the strongest ancient scripture for any realm!"

For the strongest ancient scriptures of each realm, the Dao Scripture passed down by Dao De Tianzun was the greatest for the Sea of Wheels Realm; the Empress West Scripture passed down by the Western Empress was the greatest for the Dao Palace Realm; the Hengyu Scripture passed down by Hengyu the Great was the greatest for the Four Extremities Realm; and the Great Emperor Scripture passed down by the Great Emperor was the greatest for the Dragon Transformation Realm.

As for the Immortal Platform Secret Realm, that was harder to say. Every ancient scripture had its own distinctive qualities. However, cultivating both Taiyin and the Sun Emperor's arts was unquestionably the strongest path.

"Forget it. I'll cultivate Emperor Venerable's scripture. Even if Emperor Venerable's scripture isn't the strongest in the Dao Palace Realm, it must certainly rank near the top!" After making his decision, Zhou Tong immediately closed his eyes and calmed himself completely.

Buzz!!

At that moment, a Divine Ring emerged behind Zhou Tong. It was the Divine Ring formed from his Ten Heavenly Caves.

Within the Divine Ring, a Bodhi Seed released Pure Qi that entered Zhou Tong's heart.

He was comprehending Emperor Venerable's scripture.

Though it was merely the Dao Palace Realm portion of the scripture, it was incomparably intricate. Simply reading it could make one dizzy and entranced.

Yet under the Bodhi Seed's enhancement of his enlightenment, Zhou Tong entered its gates smoothly. He began to grasp the Scriptural Meaning of this passage, and with the Bodhi Seed's help, he even sensed a vast, surging momentum.

Emperor Venerable's scripture was like a cascading waterfall, endlessly crashing into Zhou Tong's Deepest Heart. It made him feel as though his entire body was filled with an indescribable sensation.

Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—the essences of the Five Elements gradually began to evolve within Zhou Tong's heart.

A blazing sun, a valley with Metal Qi soaring into the heavens, a vast ocean, a divine mountain suppressing the Myriad Heavens, a gigantic tree Full of Life...

These five great forces resembled a Five Elements Diagram, deeply imprinted upon Zhou Tong's heart. They gave him a deeper understanding and realization of Emperor Venerable's scripture.

Gradually, the aura around Zhou Tong also began to stir.

Merely comprehending the scripture had already shown signs of a breakthrough. It had to be said that Emperor Venerable's scripture was immeasurably valuable. Even if its Dao Palace Scroll was inferior to the Empress West Scripture, it was still an unimaginable immortal scripture.