Borrowing a Route to the Northern Region

Lu Zhou moved through Qiankun Heaven and Earth, inspecting his own pure land.

But after only a moment, he lost interest.

Though Qiankun Heaven and Earth looked vast, it was utterly empty and white. Other than the patch of pure land where Little Nannan was, there was nothing else.

Holding the Bronze Buddha Statue, Lu Zhou exited the Qiankun Pearl.

Then, the Qiankun Pearl transformed into a black hole once more. Lu Zhou controlled it to collect the Five-Colored Cloud Flame. Like Ye Fan, he wanted to use this Five-Colored Cloud Flame as one of his trump cards.

Before long, a vacuum appeared around him. In a short time, he had collected more than half of the Five-Colored Cloud Flame in the seventh layer of the Fire Domain.

Only then did Lu Zhou stop.

He did not leave immediately. Instead, holding the Quasi-Emperor forbidden artifact and using the Xingzi Secret beneath his feet, he kept darting through the Fire Domain.

He even ventured into the ninth layer of the Fire Domain.

When he reached it, he saw another tiny crack had appeared on the Quasi-Emperor forbidden artifact, so he did not continue deeper.

He wanted to see whether he could find any treasures of value here.

Unfortunately, apart from some humanoid ash marks and scraps, he found nothing else.

Thus, Lu Zhou left the Fire Domain.

He went to the capital of Jin Kingdom, where he asked several cultivators about the location of the Carefree Sect.

From them, he also confirmed that as long as one paid a certain price, one could use the Carefree Sect's domain gate to travel to the Northern Region.

After learning this, Lu Zhou rested in the capital of Jin Kingdom for a day before heading straight for the Carefree Sect.

At his current speed, he reached the Carefree Sect from Jin Kingdom in merely a few days of full-speed travel.

The Carefree Sect was a major power second only to the holy lands, on par with the Taixuan Sect.

When Lu Zhou arrived before the Carefree Sect, he found that more than a thousand people were already waiting outside its mountain gate.

They were all cultivators hoping to try their luck in the Northern Region.

The allure of source to cultivators was simply too great.

Lu Zhou had not waited with them for long before several cultivators emerged from the Carefree Sect.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion and unsteady steps.

He addressed the cultivators wishing to travel through the Northern Region.

"You all should understand the rules, so I won't waste words. Those who want to borrow the route, come forward."

As soon as he finished speaking, the waiting crowd began stepping forward one after another.

Some took out artifacts they had refined themselves, while others brought out refining materials, spiritual herbs, spiritual fruits, and the like.

Some were allowed through, while others were mocked and rejected.

Some pleaded bitterly, only to receive the coldest responses.

Lu Zhou watched everything quietly.

When it was his turn, he took out two jade boxes from his robes and opened them.

Inside were the Black Jade Divine Lotus Seed and Green Jade Snow Lotus Fruit he had obtained by checking in at Yuding Grotto-Heaven and Jinsha Grotto-Heaven.

The sallow middle-aged cultivator pondered briefly before speaking to Lu Zhou.

"Though these two spiritual herbs are of low grade, they are at least five hundred years old. They can be used to refine some life-extending pills. You pass."

Three days later, Lu Zhou came to the Carefree Sect again. Together with the more than one thousand people approved over the past few days, he entered the Carefree Sect and followed the middle-aged cultivator toward the location of its domain gate.

The moment he stepped into the Carefree Sect, Lu Zhou split off a portion of his consciousness and immersed it in the system to check.

Sure enough, as one of the foremost major sects in the Eastern Wasteland, the Carefree Sect met the system's check-in requirements.

Lu Zhou immediately muttered in his heart, Check in.

Ding! Host has successfully checked in at the Carefree Sect. Host has obtained twenty Minor Medicine King-grade Purple Gold Ginseng plants, which have been stored in the host's Qiankun Pearl!

With a thought, Lu Zhou saw twenty great herbs floating inside his Qiankun Pearl. They resembled ginseng, but their entire bodies shimmered with purple-gold radiance.

Just two five-hundred-year spiritual herbs had earned him twenty Minor Medicine Kings, as well as a ticket from the Southern Territory of the Eastern Wasteland to the Northern Region of the Eastern Wasteland.

Lu Zhou felt that he had not merely avoided a loss this time—he had made a huge profit!

He used Qiankun Power to envelop the twenty Purple Gold Ginseng plants, preventing their medicinal potency from leaking away.

Before long, Lu Zhou and the others were led into a valley.

The terrain here was broad and open, with a massive sacrificial platform built there. This was where the domain gate was opened.

They climbed onto the platform one after another. An elder of the Carefree Sect placed a large quantity of source beneath the platform and into its formation.

"Everyone, the destination of this domain gate is Origin City, thirty thousand li away from the Primordial Ancient Mine. I wish you a safe journey!"

After the Carefree Sect elder finished speaking, vast energy fluctuations surged from the platform. Divine light shot into the heavens, then the domain gate opened, space tore apart, and a passage through the void was formed.

Nothing unexpected happened. Lu Zhou and the others all leaped into the void passage.

They began crossing through the void.

The Northern Region was boundless. The land was desolate and empty, its soil crimson red, without the slightest trace of life. To Lu Zhou, it felt as though he had returned to the barren and silent Mars.

A deathly aura permeated every corner of this place.

In the distant horizon stood a city. That was Origin City!

Lu Zhou traveled toward Origin City together with the others.

After entering the city, he discovered that Origin City could indeed be checked in at as well.

As expected of a city standing outside the Primordial Ancient Mine.

"Check in!"

As Lu Zhou walked along the streets of Origin City, observing the city around him, he silently muttered, Check in.

Ding! Host has successfully checked in at Origin City. Host has obtained one portion of Desolate Ancient Saint Body essence blood, which has been stored in the host's Qiankun Pearl!

Hm?

Desolate Ancient Saint Body essence blood?

Lu Zhou was intrigued.

He immediately left Origin City, chose a random direction, and flew on a rainbow for dozens of li.

At last, he stopped amid a stretch of bare stone mountains and casually carved out a stone cave.

He entered the cave, then immediately entered the Qiankun Pearl.

There, he saw a fist-sized mass of crimson blood floating within Qiankun Heaven and Earth.

Vigorous blood essence surged toward the sky, staining an entire nearby area deep red.

Lu Zhou hurriedly tried to use Qiankun Power to seal this mass of Saint Body essence blood, lest the energy contained within disperse and be lost.

But at that moment, Lu Zhou noticed that a wisp of Saint Body essence blood had transformed into a thread of blood essence and was drifting toward the azure lotus rooted in the Empress Sacred Spring.

The azure lotus was absorbing the blood essence from the Saint Body essence blood.

After growing for some time, the azure lotus that had withered, transformed back into a Lotus Seed, and sprouted anew had now reached two inches in height.

A tiny lotus leaf had already grown from its slender stem.

Lu Zhou greatly anticipated the lotus seeds it would bear.

But now, after absorbing that wisp of Saint Body essence blood, it suddenly began growing wildly.

In only a few breaths, it grew from two inches to one foot tall and sprouted a second lotus leaf.

Seeing this, Lu Zhou thought for a moment, then simply stripped a drop of Saint Body essence blood from that mass. He turned it into a mist of blood and shrouded the azure lotus with it.

Moments later, Lu Zhou saw the azure lotus bloom with boundless azure radiance. Vigorous fluctuations of Vital Energy rose from it.

Then, as if it had taken some miraculous tonic, the azure lotus grew with terrifying ferocity. Within a few breaths, it had reached three feet tall and produced three fan-sized lotus leaves.

The human-head-sized lotus flower also opened with a soft pop. Its twelve petals spread apart, revealing the lotus pod it had enclosed. Upon it were three mature lotus seeds rippling with azure, crimson, and golden radiance!

Many thanks to the boss who can no longer be seen for the 100 coins and monthly vote!