"Spiritual Stream Realm?"
Hearing the name, Li Wuyang's heart stirred. It did not sound like the vast and imposing name of a region in the Primordial World at all. Instead, it felt somewhat... like a beginner village in an immortal cultivation online game?
He sized up the cultivators before him. Their Daoist robes were uniform in style and decent in material, but they lacked the natural Dao aura of great Primordial World experts. They looked more like standard-issue equipment. The Celestial Immortal Daoist with the highest cultivation had a floating, insubstantial aura, far less condensed and weighty than cultivators of the same rank in the Primordial World. The other Earth Immortal disciples had wandering gazes and shallow foundations.
Overall, they felt like... cultivators mass-produced on an assembly line? They lacked that wildness and liveliness of fighting against heaven and earth, of defying fate itself.
Seeing that Li Wuyang did not answer and was instead sizing them up, the middle-aged Daoist's displeasure deepened. "I'm talking to you! Are you deaf? You people look suspicious, and your auras are strange. Could you be spies of the demonic path? Take them down!"
At his command, the Earth Immortal disciples behind him immediately summoned their flying swords. The blades turned into streaks of light and shot toward Li Wuyang! Their sword lights were sharp and filled with killing intent!
Li Wuyang's gaze turned cold. He had only just arrived, and they wanted to seize him at the slightest disagreement? The atmosphere in this Spiritual Stream Realm seemed rather poor!
In the past, he might have explained himself or found a way to slip away. But he had just endured a desperate flight from death and lost his companions. A fire was burning in his chest, demanding an outlet! Besides, he wanted to see exactly what these cultivators of this world were capable of!
"Courting death!"
Li Wuyang snorted and advanced rather than retreating! The Huang Ting Jing circulated, his golden core spinning within his dantian as pure Innate True Qi flooded through his limbs and bones! He did not even use the Sky-Opening Axe. Instead, he held two fingers together like a sword and unleashed a simple offensive technique included with the Huang Ting Jing—Huang Ting Sword Qi!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several extraordinarily condensed pale-gold sword qi streaks, containing a Dao aura that was upright and peaceful yet incomparably sharp, struck after the flying swords had launched but arrived first, precisely hitting the tips of those blades!
Clang! Clang!
A string of crisp rings echoed out! Those seemingly extraordinary flying swords crumpled like paper, their internal spiritual energy structures instantly shattered by the Huang Ting Sword Qi. They let out mournful cries, their spiritual light dimmed, and fell to the ground! The Earth Immortal disciples were struck even harder. They spat blood and flew backward, crashing to the ground and losing all ability to fight!
One finger defeated them all!
The middle-aged Celestial Immortal Daoist's face changed drastically, his eyes filled with incredulous horror. "Y-you... who are you?! How can your true qi be so pure and condensed?!"
As a Celestial Immortal, he could naturally sense the terrifying power contained in Li Wuyang's seemingly casual strike! The quality of that true qi surpassed every cultivation art he knew of! It was simply not something a cultivator of this level should possess!
Li Wuyang was somewhat surprised as well. He knew that after cultivating the Huang Ting Jing, the quality of his true qi was extremely high, but he had not expected the gap to be this vast. The cultivators of the Spiritual Stream Realm seemed... very weak? Or perhaps there was something wrong with their cultivation system?
He flicked his fingers and looked indifferently at the Celestial Immortal Daoist. "Can we speak properly now?"
Cold sweat streamed down the Celestial Immortal Daoist's face. He knew he had kicked an iron plate. He quickly put away his arrogance and cupped his hands. "S-senior, please forgive me! This junior failed to recognize greatness! This junior is Zhao Gan, an outer sect steward of the Qingyun Sword Sect in the Spiritual Stream Realm, ordered to patrol the border. I did not know of Senior's arrival and have greatly offended you!"
Senior? Li Wuyang found it rather amusing. With his Earth Immortal cultivation, he was practically a little brother in the Primordial World, yet here he was being called Senior? It seemed the overall level of the Spiritual Stream Realm truly was not high.
He waved a hand, too lazy to pursue the matter. "My disciple and I were traveling here and had no intention of causing offense. What exactly is this Spiritual Stream Realm? Explain it in detail."
He casually gave himself and Xuan the identities of wandering master and disciple. Xuan was still regulating his breathing, deaf to the outside world, which perfectly suited the image of a reclusive master.
Zhao Gan did not dare conceal anything and hurriedly answered, "In reply to Senior, the Spiritual Stream Realm is a lower minor world attached to the Primordial World. It was opened by the ancient great power, the Primordial Spirit Ancestor, and has existed for a million years. The laws of this realm are relatively complete, but its spiritual energy lacks vitality, and its cultivation ceiling is low. At most, one can reach the Golden Immortal realm, and even that is extremely difficult to achieve."
A lower minor world? Li Wuyang understood. No wonder it felt wrong. This was an "instance dungeon" attached to the main world! And one with defective spiritual energy at that!
Zhao Gan continued, "The Spiritual Stream Realm is mainly controlled by three great factions: the Qingyun Sword Sect, where this junior belongs, which specializes in the sword Dao; Hundred Herbs Valley, which excels at alchemy and talismans; and Tiangong Workshop, which specializes in formations and artifact refinement. There are also various small and medium sects and cultivation clans. Cultivators throughout the realm regard ascension to the Primordial World as their ultimate goal, but the road to ascension is difficult. No one has succeeded for tens of thousands of years..."
Listening to Zhao Gan's introduction, Li Wuyang gained a general understanding of the Spiritual Stream Realm. It was a shrunken, low-spec, and somewhat fiercely competitive cultivation world. Resources were limited, competition was intense, and ascension was hopeless, leaving cultivators generally somewhat... impatient and utilitarian?
"Has anything unusual happened recently? Or... have there been any strange spatial fluctuations, unfamiliar spirit beasts, or spirits appearing?" Li Wuyang cautiously inquired about his companions.
Zhao Gan thought for a moment and shook his head. "Nothing unusual. As for unfamiliar spirit beasts and spirits... Primordial World exotic creatures often fall through spatial rifts along the border, but they are quickly captured or killed by the major factions. I have not heard of anything particularly powerful."
Li Wuyang's heart sank. It seemed Huaihuai and the others had not ended up in the Spiritual Stream Realm, or... perhaps they had come here but had not been discovered?
He temporarily suppressed his worries and asked more questions about the realm's overall situation and resource distribution. Zhao Gan answered everything he knew, his attitude respectful to the point of fawning.
At last, Zhao Gan cautiously asked, "May I ask what Senior plans to do next? If Senior has nowhere to go for now, would you be willing to visit the Qingyun Sword Sect with this junior? Our sect master would surely welcome you with open arms!"
He had seen that Li Wuyang's strength was unfathomable—at least by the standards of the Spiritual Stream Realm—and desperately wanted to recruit him.
Li Wuyang glanced at Xuan, who was still regulating his breathing, and considered it. Having just arrived, he truly needed a place to settle down and learn about the situation. The Qingyun Sword Sect sounded like a righteous sect, so staying there temporarily would do no harm.
"Very well." Li Wuyang nodded. "Then I'll impose on your sect."
Zhao Gan was overjoyed and quickly led the way.
Li Wuyang helped Xuan up and followed Zhao Gan toward the so-called Qingyun Sword Sect. Since he could not return to the Primordial World for the time being, he would first establish himself in the Spiritual Stream Realm, recover his strength, and find a way to seek news of his companions! And perhaps... see whether this low-spec Primordial World had any "loopholes" he could exploit for some benefits?
A new map, a new adventure, had begun!
(End of Chapter 41)
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